Inunomaru: The Third Brother
by jerica128
Summary: How much is your life vs. the life of one you care about? The impact of a previously unknown "brother" may have more life lessons for Inuyasha than previously thought and lead to mysteries and tragedies that could change everything. Please R
1. The Third Brother pt 1

**The Third Brother  
by  
jerica128**

**Chapter 1: The Third Brother (part 1)**

"So where _exactly_ are we going Kagome? I thought you said the sacred jewel shards were close by!" Inuyasha growled and crossed his arms across his chest, the annoyance in his voice crooning out like an overly repeated song.

Kagome, Inuyasha and the others had been walking down one of the many winding roads across the countryside of southern Japan. The trip had been going pleasantly for a few hours, but Inuyasha's short patience had finally caught up with them. An already annoyed Kagome walked beside her bike while Shippo rode on it at the rear, her anger was seething through the air. Miroku and Sango brought up the front of the traveling party, their eyes moving back and forth between Kagome's furious face and Inuyasha's, the quarrel was imminent.

After a few more constant prod-ding's from Inuyasha, Kagome finally lost it; her skill of tuning him out could only last so long. She turned and yelled at him, "Can you stop being so impatient?" Her knuckles gleamed white against her ivory skin as she tightened her grip on her handlebars, "We've only been looking for them for a little while now!" He just _had_ to push her buttons all the time didn't he? The guy had the patience of a damn five year old!

Sango leaned over and whispered toward Miroku, her hand cupping around her mouth to keep it as silent as possible, "Is it me or are Inuyasha and Kagome at each others necks a little more than usual?"

Miroku returned her undertone, the obvious sarcasm and enjoyment pulling through his mellow facade, "Maybe it's because Kagome went to her own time and decided to stay longer than usual. And you know how Inuyasha gets whenever Kagome doesn't want to come back."

"It _is_ pretty hilarious how helpless he gets when she's gone," she giggled.

Inuyasha stopped his badgering and yelled up at them, "I'M NOT HELPLESS!" seeing their obviously unimpressed faces, he quickly turned back away from them to pout, "It's not my fault Kagome's the only one who can see the jewel shards."

"Nice to know I'm useful for SOMETHING!" Kagome growled furiously and turned her eyes to the reddish gray color of the uneven road. His constant idiocy made her wish that she had stayed home.

He stuck his nose in the air, "humph"

Shippo had remained silent for most of the argument but he could tell that Kagome's spirits had been declining ever since they had left the last village and had finally hit a new low. "Don't be mad Kagome," he said sweetly, giving her a big, reassuring smile, "you're useful for lots of things besides sensing the jewel shards."

The little fox demon's words calmed her anger slightly. She turned her eyes to him and managed to give him a small smile, "Thanks Shippo, I'm glad _you_ think so," she tried to spread her smile to her tone but it failed. Shippo might think she's useful but the hanyou at her side was another story. Her eyes glanced back over at Inuyasha and Shippo's slight efforts disappeared completely. She reverted back to her glare.

"Will you stop THAT!" Inuyasha growled harshly.

She finally made a decision, if he wasn't going to give her any kind of respect then she wouldn't give him any either. She forced her face to go icy and blank to show her lack of amusement, "Fine, I'm not speaking to you."

Her sudden reaction stopped Inuyasha dead in his tracks, "B…but, what did I do?"

"Humph," her voice solidified her choice but her mind screamed at him, _I could start a list but I don't have _near _enough paper! _Her feet pounded hard in the dirt as she stormed forward, leaving his frozen form behind.

Seeing Inuyasha's dumbfounded look, Miroku decided that now was the best time to spread his apparently well informed female knowledge, "I think you should allow her to be mad right now, a woman should not be bothered when they have a grudge."

"Oh and how would YOU know?" his eyes rolled as his sarcasm flourished.

Miroku continued without reproach, "Well, I happen to know tha…" his words were suddenly cut off by a loud scream echoing from a nearby village; it was soon followed by a huge explosion, covering the many hued sky with thick mauve smoke. Everyone froze, both startled and scared by the change of atmosphere.

"What was that?" Kagome pushed her bike over next to Sango, looking worriedly over at the smoke billowing into the sky.

Inuyasha ran to the front of the group, "I have no idea, but its got demon written all over it." He turned back to Kagome expecting to see her, as usual, rush to his side, "we better hurry Kago…huh…" yet again he was caught off guard. Kagome had already hopped onto Kirara behind Sango, her bow in hand.

"Let's go Sango. I'm sensing the jewel shards, lots of them," her voice ringed with urgency and excitement, she was ready for anything. Anything that could take her mind off of Inuyasha.

Sango replied with a terse nod, "Right," Kirara pushed hard into the air and they flew off, leaving Inuyasha, Miroku and Shippo.

Inuyasha was still completely dumbfounded, "Was it me or did Kagome totally just blow me off?"

Shippo raised an inquisitive eyebrow, clearly amused at his lack of the obvious, "She DID say she wasn't speaking to you Inuyasha."

"DID I ASK YOUR OPINION?" his sudden outburst caused Shippo to bolt and hide behind Miroku for some sort of protection.

Miroku looked down at the terrified Shippo then glared back at Inuyasha, "You can take this up sometime else. If you haven't noticed, we have more important things to worry about right now." He counted off on his fingers, "like Sango, demon, a number of sacred jewel shards and Kagome to name a few."

"Kagome!" Inuyasha's fuming disappeared in a flash and he jumped off after the girls at full speed.

Miroku and Shippo grinned slyly at each other.

* * *

They all met back up at the edge of the village. The ruble of the buildings spread all around them like a scene from a war zone, the flames still smoldered from within the houses. The horrid smell of burning flesh and wood radiated through the air, hovering around them in a thick cloud. Kagome had been through this kind of carnage many times before but this was just something she could never get used to. She kept her eyes locked in front of her to keep from looking at the mangled forms at her feet.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha was unfazed by the gruesome scene around them and sniffed around. His nose wrinkled as a different scent hit him, "There's definitely a demon here all right, it reeks everywhere!" he spread his feet and took a guarded stance. Everyone followed suit.

They jumped as a house collapsed under its own weight. A few of Naraku's insects emerged out from between the ruble, their wings hissing through the air as they flew off above them.

Miroku yelled up in alarm, "Naraku's poisonous insects! Inuyasha, do you smell him anywhere?"

He took another strong whiff of the air and shook his head, "No, just the scent of that demon. Even if Naraku was here, I don't think I'd be able to pick him up anyway, this thing's smell is strong enough to mask anything," he made a disgusted look; the sheer odor coming off the nearby demon burned his sensitive nose.

Another explosion tore from their left. They turned sharply toward the forest just as the large, disfigured demon lumbered clumsily across the rubble, the crunch of wood beneath his feet melded eerily with the pop of fire. His body was covered in thick wiry fur, tinted green from obvious mold and algae growth. The horns from his head arched back from his skull and down his stubby neck, giving the idea that they grew out of his back rather than his head. His arms were so long that his knuckles drug the ground, the fur from the back of his hands rubbed off from the friction. He was holding what looked like the remains of a cow; its body was laced around the demons fingers like a demented form of jewelry.

"There's the smelly bastard," Inuyasha growled and pulled the Tetsusaiga. "Heh, this'll be a piece of cake."

Miroku turned to Kagome, "Where are the shards Kagome?"

She had been trying hard to keep her lunch down but her efforts were failing at the sight of the demon and its "meal". She swallowed the bile that had risen in her throat and tried to pick up the presence of the jewels she had felt earlier. There was definitely a shard on the demon in front of them but the others seemed to have disappeared. She replied with a worried look on her face, "That's the problem. That demon only has one shard, but…I could have sworn that I sensed at least five shards a second ago."

"If you are correct, than there must be another demon or demons nearby," he started looking around, tightening his grip on his staff.

"Do you think it could be Naraku? That might explain why we saw his poisonous insects earlier," Sango asked, her body trembling from what was implied.

Miroku turned to her, "That could be the explanation, but I don't sense anything that could be Naraku and Inuyasha didn't pick up his scent. Though, that doesn't mean Naraku doesn't have someone watching from the sidelines," he yelled out to Inuyasha, who was walking confidently toward the large demon, "Inuyasha, stay vigilant! There could be a far stronger demon hiding in the trees that we're not picking up!"

He turned back to them, a large, cocky smirk across his face, "Keh, bet he's too chicken to come out and fight me," he turned his smirk back toward the demon, "Letting his little pet do the dirty work."

The demon's deep scratchy voice broke out in an annoyed yell, the mix of blood and drool poured out his lip-less jaws like an infected wound, "Little pet! I am the great demon Kilomaru! I AM NO ONES PET!" he roared and thrust his body forward, throwing his claws hard toward Inuyasha's small form at his feet.

Inuyasha easily dodged out of the way. His confident growl resonated from deep in his chest, "Hope THIS takes out the smell! You're burning my nose!" he launched himself high overhead and sliced Kilomaru's swinging hand off at the wrist, cutting through the bones of the joint with little resistance.

The fight between them only lasted for a few short minutes then, bored from the lack of competition; Inuyasha flipped back and unleashed his Wind Scar, shredding Kilomaru's flesh into pieces. The jewel shard landed softly on the blood and demon stained ground a few steps from him.

He picked up the shard and smiled cockily, tossing it up and catching it swiftly, "Well, that was easy enough. If he was that weak WITH a sacred jewel shard, he must've been laughable without it. It's actually kind of disappointing really."

Unfazed by Inuyasha's improved mood, Kagome still couldn't get the look of worry off of her face. Something struck her attention and pulled her view toward the forest,_ I'm sensing the other shards again…and they're close! _She yelled toward Inuyasha her fear was clear, "I'm sensing the other jewel shards, Inuyasha. They're behind you in the forest!"

Inuyasha turned back toward the forest and tightened his grip around the hilt of Tetsusaiga. He gave a sly glare back at Kagome, "So you're talking to me now?"

She growled, "Ugh, just be careful ok!"

Sango ran up next to her, "Where are the other shards Kagome?"

Sango's question cut off her attentive glare at Inuyasha, "What? Oh," she pointed over to where she had sensed the shards, toward the left of Kilomaru's body, "right there, they're not that far back in the trees but they're definitely there and they're all in the same place. That must mean there is only one demon." She tried to keep her voice even and confident, but she was getting a very ominous feeling, not only from her assumption but from the way she had originally picked up the shards after Inuyasha killed Kilomaru. It was like they had just appeared out of nowhere and that alone put her body on edge, along with the fact that they seemed to be pure and dormant like their shards.

They all regrouped at the edge of the village, near the trees. Inuyasha's grip on the Tetsusaiga erased the color from his knuckles as he growled dangerously; while Miroku and Sango stood near him, ready to attack. A single gust of wind came from through the trees, every muscle in their bodies tensed from the utter sensation it brought with it.

Inuyasha's eyes grew large and he froze as he the scent reached him, "What…the…"

"Did you sense that to Inuyasha? It's some kind of huge demonic force; I've…never felt anything like it." Miroku's hand rushed to the beads around his wind tunnel. His hands trembled, the idea of opening his wind tunnel with the poisonous insects around was an obvious concern.

Inuyasha didn't respond, his body remaining frozen to the spot. His mind couldn't grasp what his senses where telling him, _that scent…it smells just like,_ an image of Sesshomaru flashed through his mind, _but…_

"Inuyasha, Miroku is trying to talk to you!" Kagome thumped him on the head with her bow, hoping to elicit some sort of response from him. She got nothing.

Shippo hopped up next to her, "Is something wrong with Inuyasha? It's like he's scared or something."

"There must be something about this demonic aura that we're picking up that has him terrified for some reason," Sango also expected some sort of response from her calling him scared but was met with his stony silence like Kagome.

Kagome's face was covered in concern as she looked at him now, "Inuyasha?" _what's wrong? I've never seen you look so frightened before._ She started to reach out to him but was met with a growl.

His face had broken from its frozen state and turned to a dark scowl, "Let's get out of here," he sheathed Tetsusaiga and turned around quickly. The group all shared the same baffled face at his sudden change of character.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked quietly, again trying to find out what had struck him so strongly that he would do something like this.

He glanced over his shoulder to Kagome and replied quietly, his voice contradicting the look on his face, "Kagome, can you track those sacred jewel shards?"

"Y…yes, but…"

He turned again, facing away from the group, his voice still calm, "I want to follow those shards. Let's let this demon think he got away for now and follow him when he isn't paying attention."

Miroku had to argue this strange decision, "What will letting him go right now accomplish, when he's already here?"

He growled deep in his throat, "I don't want to fight this thing right now, so get off me!" he stormed past them in a huff.

"Bu…but Inuyasha, why are you so…" Kagome reached out for him in worry.

He growled louder, "I'll tell you when we get out of here!" with that, he jumped off in the opposite direction.

Sango threw her hirakotsu over her shoulder and turned to Miroku, "that's a first, Inuyasha running away from a fight rather than toward it."

"I agree Sango, this is very strange. Unfortunately, all we can do now is follow Inuyasha and hope that this demon doesn't come looking for US. From what we all felt, there is NO way we can handle this thing without Inuyasha's help."

They all nodded and followed Inuyasha. Eyes glancing behind them periodically to ensure that they were not being followed.

* * *

The quiet breeze blew gently through the trees; the sound of the moving branches along their canopies gave a feel of waves on a calm sea. The rising moon broke through the leaves, revealing a shadowed form high in a tree. The only movement visible from the tree's single occupant was the slow stirring of his long silver hair through the wind, floating around his shaded face like it was being blown through water rather than air.

His haunting voice came calmly through the rustle of the leaves, "do I puzzle you that much Inuyasha?" the small amount of light reflected dimly off his teeth as he smiled faintly, the hanyou's frozen reaction when he let his aura reach the group had been quite intriguing to him, "maybe it is time for me to finally introduce myself to you."

The azure glow of his eyes glowed ethereally through the darkness…

* * *

The heat radiating from the small fire in the center of the group, gave a false sense of comfort in the stagnate atmosphere coming from its audience. Even though they had had no interference from the hidden demon, they couldn't relax no matter how comfortable the environment around them was. Kagome, Sango, Miroku and Shippo ate silently on ramen and grilled fish, the meal was plentiful and satisfying but it didn't show. Meanwhile, Inuyasha sat away from them, unmoving, staring off in the distance, thinking about what had happened earlier. His face hadn't change much from the scowl he had after running away from the hidden adversary. The others eyes fell on him often, silently hoping that he would change his attitude.

Inuyasha's confused thoughts reflected all over his face, _who in the world could that have been? He smelled just like Sesshomaru…but…there was something different about his scent._ He looked down and growled quietly to himself in frustration, _damnit!_ _Who is this guy? And why the hell am I so worried about it?_

Miroku leaned toward Sango, eyes over at Inuyasha, "He still hasn't spoken."

Sango mirrored his concerned look, "He hasn't eaten anything either," she glanced over at the worried monk, "and it's his favorite."

Shippo responded with a mouthful of food, the words muffled by noodles, "Whoever that demon was must've really spooked him. He was shaking as much as I was."

Coming out of nowhere, Myoga jumped up onto Shippo's shoulder, his squeaky voice grabbed everyone's attention, "It must have been the odd scent that Master Inuyasha picked up after his battle with Kilomaru."

Shippo smiled pleasantly, "Oh, hey Myoga."

Inuyasha broke out of his sporadic thoughts and turned towards them, his voice was clearly already annoyed, "What was that Myoga?"

Myoga ignored Inuyasha and continued, "Yes, that WAS a strange scent indeed" his four stubby arms crossed across his chest, "it was a lot like master Inuyasha's older brother Lord Sesshomaru I have to say, but there was definitely something differe…"

Suddenly, Inuyasha bolted at Shippo and Myoga, yelling furiously at the little flea, "YOU MEAN YOU WERE THERE ALL ALONG AND YOU DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING!"

He squealed and dashed behind Shippo's neck, shaking with panic, "I'm sorry Master Inuyasha, forgive me for not mentioning it earlier."

Inuyasha snarled, grabbed the flea and squished him between his fingers. He let him fall to the ground. Myoga "reinflated" and jumped back up onto Inuyasha's shoulder, annoyed and fearful but unharmed.

Kagome decided that she should try to lighten some of Inuyasha's directed violence away from the old flea; he didn't have to take out all his frustration on him, "How could another demon have Sesshomaru's smell?"

"Humph, that's what's buggin' me," he sat down in a huff with his arms crossed, "I know it _isn't_ Sesshomaru. I mean, he's got a pretty _distinct_ smell," he wrinkled his nose and looked down at the ground, "apart from that, they were pretty much the same."

Myoga added confidently, "If I may say anything master, it _did_ smell a great deal like your father's as well. And his was _definitely_ a scent you remembered I have to say," he smiled as he remembered, "ah, one of the _better_ traits you and your brother inherited."

"But didn't Inuyasha's father die a long time ago?" Kagome asked.

He nodded, "Yes, you visited his grave yourself when Lord Sesshomaru tried to gain possession of the Tetsusaiga," she nodded to as she remembered that day. The sword had been placed inside Inuyasha's father's bones to wait for the day when Inuyasha would finally wield it. She shivered as the memories of that day came back with a force.

Miroku asked curtly, "Is it possible that Inuyasha's father could have been resurrected?"

Inuyasha broke in, "not likely," he pointed to his right eye, "the only way you can get to the old man's tomb is right here."

His eyes grew slightly, "Fascinating!" Miroku said, surprised by this little piece of information.

Shippo was equally surprised, "You mean the path to your father's tomb is in your eye?"

"Yup, so there is NO way that anyone can get to his remains without me finding out. Well, at least none that I've seen."

"That still doesn't explain why he smells so familiar to you Inuyasha. And, Miroku, didn't you say that the demonic aura was like nothing you have ever felt before?" Sango added.

Miroku closed his eyes in concentration, "Yes, I sensed an enormous demonic aura true, but it was very strange. Demons usually have this kind of…darkness surrounding them," he looked at Shippo and Inuyasha, "even if they are good, they still have that aura around them…but," his eyes fell again, "I could feel nothing like that from this demon, just his powerful presence. Very strange indeed."

"That's the feeling I got about the sacred jewel shards," Kagome said quietly.

The group gave her a surprised look.

Inuyasha was the first to speak, "What do you mean by that Kagome?"

The memory came back in her mind, "Well, Kilomaru's shard was tainted with darkness because of his demonic nature," she arched her eyebrows in concentration, this was all still strange to her, "These shards felt like they were still pure, like they weren't even being tainted by his demonic aura at all, similar to our shards."

"So this demon seems to be collecting shards like we are? And even though he isn't using the shards, they should still be tainted with his aura," Miroku's hand went to his chin as he thought hard, "hmm, troublesome and intriguing at the same time. What could his plans be?"

Inuyasha's usual confident tone had returned, "I don't have any idea what he plans to do with 'em. But if he's got shards then he's gonna hand 'em over," he clenched his fist and smiled. "As long as Kagome can keep track of him, we won't have any problem finding where he's hiding."

Miroku looked at Inuyasha and raised an eyebrow, "Which reminds me…why didn't you engage him earlier?"

Inuyasha stuck his nose in the air, "can't I learn a little bit about my opponent before barging in unprepared?"

He smiled and raised an eyebrow sarcastically, "Yes of course you can, but you ARE more of the barging in type."

"Humph, yeah whatever," Inuyasha mumbled.

Kagome had been quite amused by Miroku and Inuyasha's little fight. The atmosphere finally seemed like it was returning to normal. Well, maybe not completely normal, but at least Inuyasha was his usual charming self. She managed to just get a smile on her face when a sharp bolt hit her senses. She jumped up to her feet suddenly, fear all over her face as she stared at the wall of fog to the west of the campsite. Her body trembled furiously in bent up terror, "I'm picking up the jewel shards. And they're coming this way."

Her sudden reaction stopped all hopes of a comfortable evening. They dropped everything and gathered behind her, prepared for the worst.

"How close is he Kagome?" Inuyasha asked then tensed as the familiar scent reached him again. He growled deeply and drew Tetsusaiga.

"Real close," she started to back up toward Inuyasha, "that way," she pointed directly in front of her. She could feel the demon's presence now and it sent more chills down her spine than she had ever felt from Naraku. Who could this demon be to make her react so strongly?

"It's definitely him Inuyasha; it's the same demonic aura as before," Miroku said obviously picking up the same feeling as Kagome. He didn't sound near as worried as she felt though.

Inuyasha ran in front of the group and yelled out to the fog, his sword's radiating glow burned through the thick air, "Come out and fight you coward!"

* * *

As if on command, a tall figure slowly began to appear through the mist, walking smoothly toward them; even through the silence, his steps made no sound. The fog-muted silhouette looked a great deal like Inuyasha's disgruntled brother Sesshomaru but with large differences. His knee length hair was pulled up loosely behind his head. His armor was very similar to Sesshomaru as well except that they arched high over both shoulders, making his large frame seem even more massive. The pelt he wore behind his right shoulder fell to feet.

An image of Inuyasha's father flashed through Myoga's mind. His voice came out in an astounded huff, "L…Lord Inu no Taisho. It can't be…"

Inuyasha froze and turned to Myoga on his shoulder, his eyes were angled in a furious glare, "Myoga, don't you dare say that! The old man is dead, remember!"

The figures deep, smooth voice resonated through the tensed group, "indeed, Inuyasha." Inuyasha turned quickly back toward the sound, just as the demon's form became clear in front of them. The breeze gently blew through his long silver hair, reflecting the moon's glow like it was producing its own light. His bright golden eyes pierced through each member of the group, as if sizing them up for something, be it measuring them up for a fight or out of curiosity, Inuyasha didn't know.

The demon's gaze finally fell on him, "Our father is dead."

A bolt struck Inuyasha as his words hit him like a stake through the chest. His grip on Tetsusaiga faltered, letting the blade fall and hit the ground with a metallic clunk.

"O…our father…" the utter astonishment made his body shake and his voice heavy.

The demon continued calmly, his stoic face never betraying anything, "I am Inunomaru, son of Inu no Taisho and your eldest brother Inuyasha."

"WHAT!" The whole group burst out together.

END

* * *

Writer notes:

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	2. The Third Brother pt 2

**The Third Brother  
by  
jerica128**

**Chapter 2: The Third Brother (part 2)**

The reaction from the group's surprise didn't seem to disturb Inunomaru's calm facade; apparently he had expected a response similar to this when he revealed himself to them. His head moved minimally in a slow nod, "Yes Inuyasha, we are brothers. I felt this was the best time to finally introduce myself to you and your comrades. I have noticed that all of you have been having troubles as of late."

Inuyasha broke out of his surprised look and growled, "Having troubles?" he aimed the Tetsusaiga's blade at Inunomaru, testing his motives, "How long have you been following us!"

He didn't show any reaction to Inuyasha's distrusting actions, "I have always been keeping some sort of an eye on you," he held out his hand, conversational-like, "it was only after you and Sesshomaru almost defeated the half demon Naraku that I began to keep a stronger track on you both."

Before Inuyasha could respond, Kagome took the words out of his mouth, "You mean you've been following Sesshomaru to?"

Inunomaru's eyes fell to her, his voice remained smooth and emotionless, "Indeed Lady Kagome, Sesshomaru _is_ my younger brother as well."

Kagome's mind and body jumped at his reply, _he knows my name! _How in the world could they not have picked up his presence at least once during their travels, or even at least heard about him somewhere? Surely a demon of his caliber was known somewhere, right? This didn't make any sense!

Inuyasha looked over at Kagome's alarmed face then back at Inunomaru, he inquired his head and whispered to his shoulder, "hey Myoga, you still here?"

"Y…yes Master Inuyasha?" was the nervous reply through red silk. He had managed to wedge himself between Inuyasha's kimono to try and hide.

"Who is this guy? If he really is my brother like he says he is, then shouldn't you know something about him?" his narrowed eyes never left the demon in front of him.

Myoga was silent for a few seconds as he thought about what to say, "I'm sorry, Master Inuyasha but I've never heard about Inunomaru before."

Wrong choice of words Myoga, "What?" Inuyasha yelled at him, "I thought you were with my father all his life?"

Though his voice was stuttering, Myoga managed to return the volume, "I…I was! I traveled with him his entire life; there is nothing about him I don't know about!"

Inunomaru's voice cut through the conversation like a knife through butter, "are you sure, Myoga?" his eyes grinned, testing.

Myoga started trembling even more from the personalized statement, "o…of course I'm su…" before he could finish, a bolt hit him as he remembered, "oh my…"

Kagome leaned in closer to Inuyasha, directing her attention to the flea on his shoulder, "What is it Myoga?"

Myoga had frozen in realization; his body was trembling even more. If Kagome hadn't been on edge before, she sure was getting there now. Whatever the flea had figured out had scared him enough that he couldn't even run away. But, it usually didn't take much to terrify Myoga so she tried to tell herself that she was possibly overreacting, unfortunately it didn't reach her racing heart.

"MYOGA!" Inuyasha yelled.

Myoga jumped and almost fell off his shoulder, "The E…E…Empty D…Days!"

Sango was now next to Inuyasha, "The Empty Days?"

"What was that?" Miroku asked.

Myoga tried to explain as best he could, "it was over 1000 years ago, Lord Inu no Taisho had become severely depressed, like he was completely empty inside. Hence, what we call the Empty Days. Everything under his command was falling apart because he had had no desire to deal with it anymore. One day, he completely disappeared without warning. He was gone for months before he appeared again, completely normal. That's the only explanation I can come up with."

"Good time to remember THAT little piece of information Myoga!" Inuyasha growled.

Myoga whimpered, "I…I'm sorry Master Inuyasha, it was such a long time ago and the master was so happy when he returned that I forgot about it," he stopped, changing his mood and yelled at Inuyasha, "Besides, the lord said that he had just taken an extended leave of absence alone to clear his mind, he would have told me if he had fathered a son! …Unless…" he looked back at Inunomaru, completely awestruck.

Inunomaru nodded slightly, "Yes Myoga, my father did not know of my existence. My mother ensured this when I was born." He looked down, a small twinge of emotion went through his eyes then disappeared quickly, "she had helped and comforted him when he truly needed it, returning the lust for life he had once had. But, since my father was already with Sesshomaru's mother, she thought that if he discovered he fathered a bastard son he would return to his depressed state and the lands would again fall into chaos. So, upon my birth, she used her life force to conceal me from him and everyone he knew."

His words hit Kagome straight in her heart, stopping its rampant pace all together. All she could feel was sudden pity rather than fear for this demon; pity for what he had to have gone through. Inunomaru had been born alone. His father had known nothing about him and his mother had given her life to hide him from everyone and everything that could have been family to him. The sheer tragedy of it all made her throat tighten up. She couldn't help but to look over at the half demon at her side, _and I thought Inuyasha had it bad; _she thought, _at least he had his mother to help him for a while. _

Myoga believed Inunomaru's explanation, "So that's why I knew nothing about him, his mother masked his presence from all who had had contact with Lord Inu no Taisho."

Inuyasha still glared hard at Inunomaru, "So, why are you so concerned with all of us now? You should have hated my father and everything about him!"

His face remained blank, "How could I?"

"Huh?" Inuyasha's confusion rippled across his face.

Inunomaru continued, "Even though I never met my father, I still learned from him. I learned of his strength, courage, and especially his feelings for humans," he glanced toward Kagome, Miroku and Sango; making them jump back slightly at his gaze, and then turned his eyes back to Inuyasha, "The greatest of these feelings were shown with your mother, Inuyasha."

His eyes couldn't hide the sudden flicker of pain that flooded him, "My…mother?"

"I had lived half of my life watching the conflict between him and Sesshomaru and only saw the hard sides of his heart. But, when he sacrificed himself to save you and your mother…I knew that deep down, he had a kind and protective spirit. I respected him greatly after this, even though I did not, and to a point, still do not completely understand his motives."

Inuyasha looked down, trying hard to fight off any more emotion. This had to be hard on him on so many levels, Kagome thought. She wanted to grab his hand and tell him that it was okay, but her body still wouldn't respond to her mind's orders. Before she had even gained enough physical control to breathe properly, Inunomaru shocked her again.

"I am sorry, Inuyasha," Inunomaru's blank tone had a slight hint of sympathy to it now.

He looked quickly back up at him, any emotions he had were now gone, "Humph, sorry? Sorry for what?" He shrugged out of his fighting stance and sat Tetsusaiga on his shoulder, "I could care less about what you say about the old man, I never met him anyway," his lie was poorly covered.

The edge of Inunomaru's mouth turned up into a small smirk. He closed his eyes, "Indeed, little brother," Inuyasha twitched from the reference, "Lady Kagome…"

The sudden mention of her name again made Kagome jump back to reality. She tucked her hands to her chest habitually, "Um…y…yes?" _just great, there go your chances of staying out of this little family reunion, Kagome!_

He held out his hand, revealing four sacred jewel shards.

Everyone around her froze in bewilderment at Inunomaru's gesture, but Kagome was completely relieved. The breath she had been holding came out in a relieved sigh, relaxing the rest of her body to some extent.

"Y…you mean you're just going to give them to us?" She asked.

He shrugged vaguely; his voice sounded slightly bored, "I have no use for them."

"Th…thank you, Inunomaru," if all he wanted was to give them the shards then that was safe, right? She started to walk cautiously towards him. _Grab and go, grab and go, grab and go. _Inuyasha sprinted in front of her, cutting off her forward movement, "Inuyasha?" This was hard enough already, she didn't need Inuyasha stopping her and giving her time to think about how stupid this was!

Tetsusaiga was back out in between them, he looked even more on edge now that Kagome was directly involved, "I don't trust him Kagome. There is NO way he showed up after all this time to just hand over some measly jewel shards!"

Inunomaru's eyebrows angled slightly, "If I had wanted to kill you Inuyasha, you would already be dead."

Kagome ignored this obvious threat on a life and pushed past Inuyasha, "stop being an idiot, Inuyasha," she continued on her previous path toward Inunomaru and glanced back at him over her shoulder, forcing a smile, "where's the trust? He's not going to do anything to me."

She turned back around and looked down at the ground in front of her, biting her lip hard. Her decision had been made up, but she still wasn't sure that this was the most sane option in her field of choices, _man I hope my hunch is right,_ she thought,_ if not, then you might as well carve the tombstone now. Here lies Kagome, flambéed while getting lovely little pink pieces of a jewel that she broke in the first place. Oh, how she will be remembered..._

She took a deep breath, built up what courage she had left and looked up; strait into Inunomaru's piercing golden eyes. The sheer intensity of his eyes made her blood pump even harder in her ears, from terror or pure awe she wasn't sure. The dark light from the fire hadn't given many details of what he looked like but now that she was close to him, she could make out every feature.

The first and most obvious thing she noticed was his size. He had to have been at least a foot and a half taller than her, probably making him about seven feet tall. The curved armor over his shoulders reminded her of American football players that she had seen on TV, arching wide and regally around his already wide shoulders. The armor around his torso was very similar to Sesshomaru's except the chest piece didn't have his unapproachable spikes protruding from it; instead it had a large red ruby-like jewel set in its center, set in a simple black and metal base. His kimono was so white it seemed to glow under its own light and was detailed with deep scarlet accents on his right shoulder and on each sleeve. His obi was a pale blue, accented with dark ebony that fell below his knees. His hair, she found, acted strangely in the breeze, like it didn't seem to have any weight to it and each strand reflected the light from the fire much like spider webs. _Damn these demons and their perfect hair,_ she thought.

His face made her hate demon genetics even more. It was just as blank and emotionless as a statue you would see in a museum and just as flawless. He had one red marking on each side of his face that brought out his strong cheekbones even more while the soft blue color of the four pointed star on his forehead seemed to mirror the smoldering glow from his yellow-gold eyes. She couldn't help but feel awkward and completely out of place under those eyes, let alone terrified at what could possibly happen if she wasted too much time staring at him.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to keep any emotions off of her face, then reluctantly held out her trembling hand for the shards. Well, if she was going to die right now, at least she was going to die with a brave face on.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled behind her but didn't make any action to move. The bloodcurdling growl he gave made her feel even worse. _Thanks for the positive reinforcement, buddy._

Inunomaru ignored Inuyasha's threatening growls and reached out his hand. Kagome felt even more like a child when she noticed how much larger it was than hers, it must've been the size of a dinner plate. He lowered his hand, fingers down, into hers and gently opened them, letting the shards slide onto her palm; she shivered as his massive claws grazed lightly over her skin. He moved his hand curtly to his side and she squeaked a thank you then backed back off toward the others.

"See, no problem at all," she said when she reached the confused group, her voice still trembling. Instead of stopping next to them though, she kept walking past them and, once reaching the fire circle, completely lost her brave composure completely. Her head had gotten dizzy and she bent over, only then realizing she had been holding her breath.

Inunomaru removed his eyes from Kagome and returned them to the sword wielding half demon, "Inuyasha."

"What?" Inuyasha turned back to Inunomaru, his attention had been so focused on making sure that Kagome returned in one piece that he almost forgot that the possible source of danger was still there.

"I have something else I want to do before I leave," these words made everyone tense up again.

"I knew it!" he griped Tetsusaiga tighter, "I'm not gonna go down easy, bring it on!"

"So eager Inuyasha," he shook his head slightly and grinned, "You would not last five minutes."

He growled even louder, "well aren't _we_ a confident one," he spread his stance in preparation for what he thought was coming.

Inunomaru ignored Inuyasha's actions and grew serious again, "I wanted to warn you."

Inuyasha's face grew concerned then cautious in a flash, "and what EXACTLY would you want to warn ME about?"

"Naraku is planning a large scale attack soon. All of you must be prepared and on your guard for anything that could somehow be related to him," his voice nailed in the importance of what he said.

Miroku wasn't as convinced, and glared harshly by Inuyasha's side. He to held his staff tight in his hands. "How can you know anything about the actions of Naraku?" he said, "He disappeared after Inuyasha and Sesshomaru fought him in his castle and no one has been able to pick up any trace of him at all since."

Inunomaru returned his glare with blank eyes, "I have ways, Master Miroku." Miroku tightened his fingers around his staff and ground his teeth together in a scowl.

"I knew it! You're one of Naraku's spies aren't you?" Inuyasha accused. "That's why we saw Naraku's poisonous insects at the village. You were relaying information back to him weren't you?"

The air around them seemed to get thicker as Inunomaru remained silent. Then, he quickly arched his eyebrows and gave Inuyasha an ice cold glare. His voice became sharper but remained uncomfortably calm, "You forget Inuyasha that I have seen everything Naraku has done to all of you. The ways he has hurt each and every one of you disgust me," a small growl resonated from deep in his chest, the sound enough changed their questioning minds and gave them chills. Such an assumption of which side he was on was clearly not acceptable.

Inuyasha still wasn't buying it, "Well, if YOU want him gone so much, why don't YOU get rid of him yourself? You claim to be powerful, so why don't you PROVE it?"

Inunomaru sighed back into his former façade and lowered his eyes, "This task lies with all of you, I cannot interfere."

"And why not?" they all gave a surprised look at Shippo, who had been staying quiet near the fire, "you could help us a lot if we run into Naraku again," he crossed his arms and grinned, "and it couldn't hurt for Inuyasha to have a big brother around, he needs somebody besides Kagome to keep him in line. It gets pretty hard for her sometimes, if you can imagine."

"Shippo…" Inuyasha growled through closed teeth, "Can we discuss this later?"

Inunomaru grinned slightly down at him, "Little Shippo, always so positive," Shippo squeaked and hopped behind Miroku.

By that time, Kagome had recovered from the lack of oxygen from her brain and walked up next to Inuyasha, she agreed with Shippo, "he's right though, we could always use more help," she looked appreciatively over to Inuyasha, who was utterly confused at all of this, "and family IS the greatest thing anyone can have."

The mention of family didn't change his attitude like she had hoped, he popped out of his confusion and turned his glare back to Inunomaru, "Keh, I don't need no stinkin' family!" his voice fell slightly, "I've…had too many problems with family throughout my life." He yielded his fighting stance and finally sheathed the Tetsusaiga.

Kagome gave him a concerned look. The hardships he's gone through must have made him hesitant and highly against anything dealing with relations; which was entirely understandable given the position of a certain demon lord. But still, he should give Inunomaru a chance at least.

Inunomaru agreed with Inuyasha with a small nod, "Understood."

"Huh?" his reaction seemed to give the idea that he wanted Inunomaru to stay, much to the contrary from his past statement. Kagome couldn't help but smile in her mind at this; maybe he wasn't as hateful of family as she had previously thought.

"I came to give you warning of Naraku and to relinquish my jewel shards. I hope that I have helped in the long run," he nodded a curt farewell and started to turn to leave.

Kagome wasn't going to let him go that easily, "Inunomaru, wait," she said, her voice making him stop and glance back. She smiled pleasantly and walked back up to him again, "don't make yourself a stranger okay. Feel free to come and see us whenever you like, and don't worry about helping us once in a while, you know we need it sometimes," she whispered so only they could hear, "besides, I think Inuyasha could really use your company sometimes. You and he have a lot in common."

He gave her a soft smile, "thank you lady Kagome," he turned back around and started to walk off, "it was a pleasure to finally meet you in person Inuyasha."

Inuyasha crossed his arms, "humph, yeah whatever."

Shippo ran up next to Kagome, "Where ya going, Inunomaru?"

"I have another brother to meet," his form disappeared silently back into the fog.

"I bet THAT goes well," Inuyasha said sarcastically to himself.

After a few seconds, Inunomaru's presence could no longer be felt through the air and everyone finally relaxed.

Miroku made his way back to the fire and sat back down next to the now dwindling flames, "I don't know about all of you, but I like him," he took a sip of tea.

"You sure didn't look like it," Sango said.

"I…didn't want to give a…false impression," he tried to save himself but failed poorly.

Sango huffed a laugh, sat next to Miroku and pulled her feet under her, "he…seems ok, but…I still can't get over how he looked," she shivered, "he's like some sort of distorted version of Sesshomaru. I don't know, it just felt strange." Kirara meowed quietly in agreement next to her.

Shippo giggled, "I think he's just a nicer version of Inuyasha, nothing bad about that."

Inuyasha growled at him, "and what does THAT imply?"

"N…nothing, I just thought…AHH!" he jumped up and ran away as Inuyasha rushed at him.

Miroku sat with a blank face, still sipping his tea, "yup, definitely an improvement on Inuyasha."

Sango had the same face as Miroku, "I would have to agree with you there…haaaaand_"

"_it has a will of its own," Miroku smiled, a red hand print spreading across his face.

Inuyasha was still trying to catch Shippo who was dashing in and out of the circle and the surrounding bushes, "Come back here and get what's coming to you, you little…"

The argument continued as Kagome remained silent, looking over to where Inunomaru had vanished.

He had appeared and disappeared so suddenly that she still couldn't quite put a finger on everything that had happened in those few minutes. She hoped he would agree to her suggestion and come back. Though he didn't show it, she got a feeling that he had wanted to stay. Her thoughts trailed off, _I hope you do decide to come back soon, Inunomaru_ she looked back at Inuyasha, closing the distance from Shippo, and smiled, _it seems like Inuyasha isn't the only one who's yearning for a family._

END

* * *

Writers notes:

You can only think about what's going to happen next ;)

Hope I gave a pretty good opening for Inunomaru, I tried to keep his name around Inuyasha, Sesshomaru and Inu no Taisho so that's where it  
came from.

O and if you want an image to think of just look at my avatar


	3. Battle of the Eldest

**The Third Brother  
by  
jerica128**

**Chapter 3: Battle of the Eldest**

The sun was edging its way down the horizon, hovering in the air like a lantern. Its golden light stretched the shadows of the group across the grass as they walked along their path. Inuyasha lead the group, walking quietly with hands folded in his sleeves in front of him. After Inunomaru left the night before, he had been in strangely high spirits and much more agreeable, to the surprise of everyone.

Myoga bounced up his arm and onto his shoulder, "Master Inuyasha?"

"You still here Myoga?" he kept his eyes coolly forward.

The old flea nodded even though he was out of eye-shot, "Yes Master Inuyasha, I wanted to ask you something."

"What?" he sighed heavily but stayed with his current positive attitude.

"Um, can you still pick up Inunomaru's scent?" he asked.

Inuyasha finally looked over to his shoulder, raising his eyebrows, "Why are you so concerned?"

"…Well…" his eyes fell sadly and his body slumped. The appearance of another member of his former master's family made him feel unaccomplished. He had made a promise to keep track of Inu no Taisho's sons and it could not be fulfilled if one remained unknown. Still, deep down in his gut, he still felt unsure about the validity behind what Inunomaru had claimed. His explanation had made sense, but there was just something about the demon that made Myoga nervous. He wanted to slap himself for his stupidity; he just HAD to keep his word, didn't he? Regardless of what his gut told him.

"Can't you just follow his scent trail? I mean, you can find ME anywhere," Inuyasha said, confused.

"That's the problem, once he got out of sight; it was like he just vanished again. Even his smell disappeared!" yet another fact that made him hesitant to follow.

Inuyasha didn't catch the flea's scared tremble, "Hmm, he didn't seem to vanish to me," he motioned to the west with a nod of his head, "I picked him up early this morning, but his scent is pretty faded now."

The sound of Miroku's staff jingled melodically as he walked up next to them, "it must be the protective field that Inunomaru had mentioned last night."

His statement caught Inuyasha's attention, "What do you mean?"

"Well, Inunomaru claimed that his mother had hidden his existence from his father and everyone he was acquainted with, right?" he explained.

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah, so?"

Miroku continued, "You and Sesshomaru were not born when this barrier was created, so, it must not have an effect on both of you. Myoga, on the other hand, had already met Inu no Taisho BEFORE Inunomaru was born and thus was affected."

Myoga nodded, "Ah, yes, I remember, the only reason I could pick up his scent and presence is because he wanted to be picked up. And when he left, he put up the protective field again and concealed himself from me," he pouted and rubbed his eyes like he was going to cry, "oh, why do I always get left behind?" Though, he wasn't sure if he really was sorry about it.

"His mother must have been a very powerful demon to be able to hide his presence like that," Miroku added, his voice showing slight surprise at this possibility.

Inuyasha nodded, "Yeah, and if he actually is my brother like he says he is, then…" his eyes were suddenly bright.

Myoga broke out of his fit of pouts, "do you think he could be even stronger than Sesshomaru?"

He grinned boldly, "Keh, I wouldn't doubt it. Man, I would _love_ to see the look on Sesshomaru's face when he meets him!" his excitement was plainly apparent across his face and he seemed to be holding back the urge to jump around like a little kid waiting in line to get a new toy.

Kagome had been listening in on their conversation from a few feet behind them, but now that the discussion had changed to talk of a possibly life threatening fight between Inunomaru and Sesshomaru, things were different. She ran up next to them, her face clearly voiced her troubled thoughts about the matter, "you're not worried about him?"

"Sesshomaru? Absolutely NOT!" Inuyasha growled at her assumption.

"Well, yeah, but Inunomaru's your brother to isn't he? Aren't you concerned about him at all?" she knew he wouldn't care about Sesshomaru's well being, that was pretty self explanatory, but Inunomaru already seemed more like family to him then Sesshomaru had ever been, and that had to mean something. Well, at least from her point of view at least.

Inuyasha turned his nose up away from her, "humph, not my problem," he walked off ahead, back to the old Inuyasha they all know and love.

Kagome growled after Inuyasha as Miroku put a calming hand on her shoulder, smiling optimistically, "I wouldn't be worried about Inunomaru, Kagome; I think he's more than capable of handling himself."

She nodded cautiously, "I hope so," her eyes remained painfully concerned, still not convinced that events would go smoothly. She knew Inunomaru was powerful but was he strong enough to stand up to someone like Sesshomaru? She couldn't help but bite her lip as her mind played through what could happen.

* * *

Sesshomaru stood perfectly still on the edge of a small outcropping, his eyes were closed calmly but his body seemed unnaturally tense from some unseen cause. The wind blew around his form and through the field his group had stopped in for the night, its soft gusts waving through the grass and around the small fire circle. Rin slept peacefully next to Ah-Un while Jaken sat next to the fire, his fretful eyes looked over at his master.

Sesshomaru had been unusually disagreeable for a while now, even for him, and not long after they had set up camp for the night, he had become even more ill-tempered. Jaken couldn't help but worry about what could have him on edge like this all of a sudden. He broke his gaze away from Sesshomaru and mumbled to the ground, "Why won't you tell me what's wrong my lord? I thought you trusted me. Humph, how dare he treat me like this!"

"Jaken," Sesshomaru's icy voice broke through the crackle of the fire.

Terror grabbed him like a vice. Expecting that he was about to die from his previous comment, he cautiously hopped over to Sesshomaru, not sure of what to expect, "y…yes me lord?"

"Do you sense that?" he remained still.

Secretly breathing a huge sigh of relief, Jaken looked at his lord questioningly, "Sense what me lord? I don't pick up anything out of the ordinary," he couldn't pick up any sign that there was something or someone around them, but his senses were not as acute as his master's, so he tried not to argue. Sesshomaru had apparently not heard him earlier but he didn't want to push it.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed slightly, "Someone is coming."

Terror covered the little imp's face, "Is it a demon?" his hands gripped around his staff tightly, voice trembling. He tried to put on a brave face, "D…don't worry me lord, I will take care of this demon for you. You need not bother with him!"

Sesshomaru cut him off sharply, "No, Jaken, I want you to take Rin and leave. You will only get in my way here," he finally turned and took a stance toward the forest behind them, his eyes in a narrow glare.

Jaken gave him a confused look, _Lord Sesshomaru, are you worried about my safety?_ Then his face quickly turned to worry as he thought about what this request had really meant, _but, if you want me to leave, then…this demon must be… _it suddenly went into pure fright, _THIS DEMON MUST BE STRONGER THAN YOU!_

Sesshomaru's face was still cold and blank, "Jaken, you're not leaving," his voice was sharper.

Jaken burst out into pitiful wails at his feet, "I will not leave you me lord! I will fight for you till my last breath, go and save yourself! I can't bear to see you killed!"

Sesshomaru's icy gold eyes glared down at him. Jaken didn't need any words to know that he had insulted his master greatly.

He started bowing frantically at his feet, hoping that he could somehow extend his now increasingly shortening life, "I…I'm sorry Lord Sesshomaru, I did not mean to imply that you were a coward. Please, forgive my idiocy me lord."

He ignored his pleas and walked silently past him, "Like I said before, you will just get in my way."

Jaken sniffed and wiped his eyes, "Y…yes me lord, I will go now," he quickly got up, hopped over to the fire circle and woke Ah-Un and Rin. Rin protested being waken up out of her nap, but complied with Sesshomaru's orders from Jaken and moved tiredly onto Ah-Un's back, falling back to sleep once she had sprawled over the dragons wide shoulders.

As they started to leave, Jaken looked back at the remaining demon lord. He had moved back to his previous position on the cliff outcropping, his body position was calm but he had a look in his eyes that gave Jaken chills that went deeper than his bones. "Oh, Lord Sesshomaru, I fear all will not go well, please reconsider," the ominous feeling was quickly building up in the air, making it hard to breath. He didn't want to leave his master alone, but if anything happened to the little girl that slept a few feet away from him, he would probably end up as leather shoes for a mouse.

They disappeared into the trees.

* * *

Sesshomaru watched his group leave in silence, eyes unconsciously locked protectively onto the sleeping child. The girl had fallen asleep almost as soon as she lay on Ah-Un's back; she was always one to have no reaction in events like these.

Though annoying demonic presences where commonplace, this one in particular was highly unwelcome. He had picked up the existence of this strange demonic aura within an hour of their stopping and its presence had been constant for the past two hours. Apparently, this demon decided to either wait until he was alone to reveal itself, or spy on him because it was too cowardly to show itself in his presence at all. One thing was sure; he was not going to allow this demon to continue to eavesdrop on him no matter how uncomfortable it made the others feel. Though his assumptions had been highly inflated and would be punished for later, Jaken had been partially accurate on one theory he made earlier. The demon was clearly not one of your everyday weaklings that he ran into on a daily basis, but its strength was of no consequence, that could be dealt with easily enough. It was its aura itself that was uncomfortable.

He glanced again at the now departed group, gave one more mental threat to Jaken then turned his icy glare back to the forest where the demon was cowering in the trees, "You will come out if you value your life."

The demon complied with Sesshomaru's words with no hesitation, walking without a sound out of the shadows. He stood tall and bowed his head respectfully, "Greetings, Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed slightly, the demon was instantly even more unwelcome in his presence now that he was clearly visible. The resemblance of this demon to his father was disturbingly similar in both sight and smell. Though his mind went through all sorts of reasons for their similarities, he ensured that he kept his face blank to keep him oblivious to his thoughts, "Who are you and why does the stench of my father follow you?"

His statement seemed to have an effect on the demon, causing him to give Sesshomaru his own cold glare, "You do not give him the respect he deserves Sesshomaru." He raised an eyebrow, "your envy of Inu no Taisho has always been staggering to me."

Sesshomaru's temper flared through his eyes, "Envy? My father deserved no kind of envy. And who are you to presume this?" he pulled Toukijin from its resting place at his side and pointed it at the demon's chest, hand steady and unmoving.

If his comments weren't insulting enough, he presumed to grin and shake his head, mocking him even more, "So eager to jump to conclusions Sesshomaru, you and Inuyasha have more in common than I thought."

Comparing him to his worthless brother pushed Sesshomaru past his already shortened patience. "How dare you compare me to that half breed," Sesshomaru growled quietly, "you shall die for your audacity," he dug his toes into the soft dirt at his feet and launched himself forward.

The demon remained motionless as Sesshomaru quickly reached him and aimed his blade at his skull. Unfortunately, Sesshomaru had underestimated his speed. His attack was dodged without a problem, the demon's unnatural speed managing to get him out of the way with ease. He appeared again next to the cliff where Sesshomaru had been standing not too long before.

"Now now little brother, I know fighting with Inuyasha is commonplace, but why make such a rash decision with me? Do you truly wish to lose another arm?" he allowed a certain level of smugness to come through his tone but clearly insured that his words were not misunderstood.

_Brother? _Sesshomaru couldn't keep the glint of surprise from showing on his face but quickly curved it into an even harsher glare, "Explain yourself."

The demon folded his hands into his sleeves, standing as authoritative as he was able, "I am your older brother, Inunomaru. I was hidden from our father when I was born, and I made sure to not be discovered by you. But, matters as they be, I feel it is imperative to finally reveal myself to you and Inuyasha."

Sesshomaru reacted with a low snarl, "Hn, not revealing your presence is a sign of cowardice. I refuse to admit having any relation to a coward," there were two things he would not tolerate, liars and overly confident cowards; this demon seemed to fit both. He bolted forward again, Toukijin glowing green in his hand.

As he closed the distance, Inunomaru growled softly, closed his eyes in apparent defeat and outstretched his arms to his sides as if he was going to sacrifice himself willingly to his attack. But, before Sesshomaru could reach him, he shot his eyes open and clenched his fists tight. This action forced the two, thin blades concealed on his gauntlets to swing out from his forearms, locking into place at his wrists.

Sesshomaru leapt into the air and forced the burning blade of his sword down at Inunomaru. But, before his attack landed, Inunomaru swiftly crossed his twin blades above his head, easily blocking the assault of Toukijin. The power behind the three blades held fast for a few seconds, forcing the grass and earth to uproot and swirl around their owners.

_He's holding back_, Sesshomaru thought as he pushed himself forward, _if you are my brother like you claim, Inunomaru, then fight back_.

As if reading his mind, Inunomaru gave a testing smirk, bared his claws and uncrossed his blades, blasting Sesshomaru back with a blinding burst of light. Sesshomaru flipped over uncontrollably but was able to recover without difficulty as his feet hit the ground. Toukijin shook feebly in his hand from the force inflicted on it.

Though he was satisfied that he was able to force a response from Inunomaru, the look of disgust at the ease at which he was thrust back stretched all over his expression. Sesshomaru looked down at his inferior blade and cursed it inwardly. He stared back at Inunomaru then glanced down at the soft blue glow that radiated from the blades at his wrists, growling through his teeth. Even a demon that hadn't existed in his life three hours ago possessed blades that surpassed his own, it was utterly sickening. They were yet another detail he would look into after this altercation was over.

"Sesshomaru, I do not wish to fight you brother, and I know you do not wish to kill me," Inunomaru said calmly but with a slightly harsher edge as he pointed his blade towards him, "but, I will not hesitate to put you on your knees if necessary."

Sesshomaru ignored the threat and gave a threat of his own in his usual icy tone, "No, it is _you_ Inunomaru that will be on your knees," he charged, "in pieces."

The skin of fish crackled around the swirling flames of the fire. Shippo could tell that they were almost done and focused his excited attention on the largest of the fish, bouncing in his seat on a small log. Inuyasha was focused on the same fish, there was no way he was going to let the little fox demon grab it before him. Before he could rush in to grab his much desired prize, though, a huge "lightning bolt" of energy blasted into the sky, snaking its way across it like an angled web.

Inuyasha jumped up, his hand rushing to the hilt of the Tetsusaiga, "What the hell was THAT!"

Sango ran up next to him, followed closely by the transformed Kirara, "It was a demonic blast wave, it's not too far away!"

"Kagome!" Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder, "do you sense any jewel shards?"

She shook her head, "no, but you don't suppose…"

He turned back and grinned, o yes he did, "heh, I'll give you one guess," he jumped off at full speed, "I'm not gonna miss this for the world!"

"Come on, Kagome!" Sango yelled, jumping on Kirara's back and landing her next to Kagome.

"Okay," she jumped onto Kirara's back, Shippo grabbed onto her shoulders and held on like a furry backpack. Miroku jumped on behind her and they took off.

They followed quickly behind the now disappeared Inuyasha, as the blasts continued to shoot across the cloud free sky.

* * *

Inuyasha made it to the edge of the field within a few minutes and made sure that he remained in the shadows of the trees. The second he noticed who was in the field, he was instantly baffled at what was going on between them. They exploded apart and together, forcing blue and green bolts to shoot upward and sharp rings of metal on metal to resonate through the air as their immense demonic powers clashed. Inuyasha could barely keep up with their speed until they stopped suddenly. Sesshomaru was in a staggered position, clearly furious at his strange predicament. Inunomaru was completely unscathed, standing tall and calm in the center of the destroyed meadow; the blades he held at his wrists had a blue, mist-like smoke twisting from them.

_I can't believe this!_ Inuyasha thought as he looked at Inunomaru, _he isn't even cracking a sweat!_ He smiled and chuckled to himself, this was better than he thought. But, even though he praised Inunomaru for beating Sesshomaru up, he still couldn't understand why Sesshomaru was allowing him to get the better of him in the first place. He would never allow someone manhandle him like this and he was definitely far stronger than what he was showing right now.

His brothers stood still for a few more seconds then, Inunomaru relaxed his arms to his sides and refused to continue, "This is pointless Sesshomaru; what will killing each other accomplish?"

Sesshomaru growled, clearly furious that he was being asked to surrender. He glared down at the blade he held in his hand like it was a parasite. His massive Toukijin wasn't a match for the two seemingly meager blades that Inunomaru had. Inuyasha smiled again, the guy had the worst luck with weapons.

Surprisingly, instead of launching another attack, Sesshomaru glared at Inunomaru and sheathed his useless sword. Before Inuyasha could draw any conclusions why he was suddenly laying down his arms, Sesshomaru stiffened his body and bared his fangs, sparking Inuyasha's memory back to a certain fight they had at his father's grave. Now this was the Sesshomaru Inuyasha was used to seeing. If Sesshomaru was angry enough to transform then maybe this fight wasn't over after all.

The wind began to pick up around Sesshomaru's form as his body started to tremble and his eyes shown a deadly shade of red. But just as Inuyasha thought it was about to get good again, Sesshomaru froze. He looked down at his Tenseiga, confused. Apparently, the sword had stopped his transformation for some reason. He looked back at Inunomaru and stood strait, staring at him intently, like he was questioning him about something. Well, at least he wasn't the only one that was mildly confused by this guy, Inuyasha reflected.

Sesshomaru relaxed and allowed his face to go blank, "very well, there is no reason to continue this insignificant battle any further," without another word, he turned to walk away.

Inunomaru lifted his arms, folded back his twin blades and looked calmly at the retreating Sesshomaru, "I do nothing without purpose Sesshomaru," he said, and then moved his eyes over to the trees where Inuyasha was hiding and stared right at him. "Inuyasha, I assume you have seen enough?"

Inuyasha jumped at his recognition, he had been too excited that Sesshomaru was running away with his tail between his legs to pay attention to his physical status. His scent must have tipped Inunomaru's nose off to his location. Though mildly annoyed that the fight hadn't gone like he had planned, seeing the ending was just as satisfying. He stood and walked cockily out from the trees, meeting Sesshomaru's icy gaze a few yards away. He couldn't help but grin at his brother's beaten body, "You look a little worse for wear Sesshomaru. Heh, looks like you bit off a little more than you could chew didn't you."

Sesshomaru's deadly glare didn't faze him at all, "hn, there is no point in wasting my energy on something as trivial as this."

He rolled his eyes and smirked wider, "sure, sure."

* * *

Kagome and the others arrived a few seconds later and landed next to Inuyasha. She had expected a far more hostile scene when they got there, but all three of the silver-haired demons seemed surprisingly calm, their relaxed demeanor didn't help her settle down though. Her experience, especially with what she had seen of Sesshomaru, told her to never trust a cool, calm and collected look. It felt worse than an all out yelling match.

"What happened?" she said to Inuyasha, glancing over at Sesshomaru.

"He sure looks pretty banged up," Shippo added, jumping down from her shoulders.

Inuyasha smiled wide, "it's cuz Inunomaru kicked his _ass_ that's why," his over excited response made her want to slap him.

She gave him scowl then noticed that Inunomaru's proximity to the group had changed. He had silently closed the distance between them but stopped a few meters away, intentionally keeping himself disconnected. Meanwhile, Sesshomaru had started to walk off again. He passed Kagome, eyes closed, body tense, holding his temper back as well as he could. She noticed how frustrated Sesshomaru looked and her previous attitude changed. Even after all the times he had tried to kill them, she couldn't help but feel sympathy for him; he must be so embarrassed to be seen like this in front of them.

"Sesshomaru," Inunomaru's words behind her made him stop. He made no move to open his eyes or turn, Inunomaru continued evenly, "even though you refuse to listen to me now, I hope that you will look past your pride and accept assistance when needed. This battle with Naraku is not one you can do on your own. You and Inuyasha must work together to defeat him."

Inuyasha crossed his arms, clearly annoyed, "yeah right, like that'll ever happen!"

"I need no help from Inuyasha," Sesshomaru said with blades behind his words. He continued on his current path, "I will handle Naraku myself," his eyes never opened as he disappeared into the cover of the trees.

"You say that now Sesshomaru," Inunomaru said, Kagome could see the slight glint of a smile cross over his face.

She walked over to Inunomaru and grinned, "Hello again."

"Hello, Lady Kagome," he gave her a small nod.

She put her hands up, mildly embarrassed from his formality, "just Kagome please," she had never gotten used to being called Lady Kagome from anyone and it seemed even more unnecessary and uncomfortable coming from Inunomaru.

He nodded lower, "Kagome."

Well, at least he was thoughtful. "Umm," she unconsciously started to fidget with her fingers, she knew what she wanted to ask him but didn't quite know how to ask without sounding too needy, "are…you sure you don't want to join us for a little while?"

His eyes softened faintly. The warmth of a blush suddenly spread across her face, much to her regret. She bit her lip and stared at the ground, _he just _had_ to make this more awkward didn't he._

Shippo was being nosy and jumped back onto Kagome's shoulder, "pleeeeeeease, you wouldn't be a bother at all!"

He shook his head, "I really should not interfere."

"Heh," they looked over at Inuyasha, "the way I see it, you've already interfered. So you might as well stay for a while, just as long as you don't get in my way."

"Inuyasha," Kagome smiled warmly. His agreement was just too cute.

He gave her a befuddled glare, "What? At least that'll stop Shippo from buggin' me about it!"

She giggled, not convinced a bit; "I know," she turned back to Inunomaru, "so what do you say?"

"There would be no problem at all for you to join us," Miroku added as he came up to them.

Sango nodded next to him, "I agree, and it would be a good change for you from being alone all the time."

Inunomaru closed his eyes and sighed, the choice had apparently been made up for him already. He looked back at Inuyasha who was peeking at him through one eye; a small grin appeared on Inunomaru's face, "very well."

Kagome could have cheered, Shippo did it for her.

"YAY!" he jumped off of her shoulder and wrapped his arms around Inunomaru's calf, like a son holding on to his father's leg for a ride. Kagome was definitely not thinking about cheering anymore. She froze stiff, eyes growing to the size of saucers. The little fox had gone INSANE!

She started to make a move to rush in and grab him before Inunomaru went "demon" or something like that and turned him into doggy hamburger. She trusted Inunomaru to some extent but not _that_ much yet, "U…Shippo…"

"Huh…what?" he glanced up at Inunomaru who was looking at him evenly. His actions finally hit his "self protection" nerve, causing him to squeak in fear and hurriedly hop off. "Hehe sorry," he smiled in embarrassment.

Much to Kagome's surprise, Inunomaru grinned, "you have nothing to fear from me, little Shippo."

Shippo shrugged, "yeah, I guess not," then whispered so that only he, Inunomaru and Kagome could hear, "can't say the same thing about Inuyasha though, he's such a bully sometimes."

Inuyasha growled loudly behind them, "WHAT DID YOU SAY SHIPPO?"

He yelled back at him, "nothing!" he looked back at Inunomaru, "see what I mean?"

"You say that to my face! You little…" Inuyasha bolted towards them. Shippo dashed in the other direction, squealing loudly as he ran.

Well this was embarrassing, "sorry 'bout them," Kagome said with a sheepish grin.

His grin widened slightly, "it is perfectly alright."

She smiled back at him, again blushing a little.

Inuyasha and Shippo were still arguing, running around the group. After a good time of laughing at the pair, Kagome finally grew tired of Inuyasha's spitefulness to the innocent little Shippo. Her voice sounded throughout the meadow, "SIT BOY!"

**BAM!**

Inuyasha muffled painfully through the hole in the ground, "no…not fair…"

END

* * *

Authors note:

Well, hope this had some entertainment value. Sessh is a little pissed I would have to say but curiosity gets the best of everybody once in a while.  
And I had to put in a "sit" somewhere in there ;)

Hope to hear from you guys about anything :D


	4. Advice

**The Third Brother  
by  
jerica128**

**Chapter 4: Advice**

The group decided that it was best not to travel at that current time of night, so they pitched camp on the edge of the battlefield meadow. Kagome ate her small bowl of instant ramen pleasantly by the fire. There was no food to be found around them, so she had managed to split her leftover ramen between everyone.

She sat quietly on her log, thinking to herself about what they should do now that Inunomaru had "joined" their group. Well, first things first, she wasn't going to let Inuyasha get away with not holding some sort of conversation with him.

She looked over to Inuyasha, who was inhaling his small portion of food like a vacuum, and grimaced slightly at his lack of table manners, "Hey Inuyasha?" she asked.

He glanced up and answered, mouth still full, "What?"

"Why don't you go talk with Inunomaru?" she motioned towards the demon who sat a good distance away from the group, facing away from them, "he's been over there by himself ever since we set up camp, I'm sure you two have a lot to catch up on."

"Like what exactly?" He raised an eyebrow, swallowed and gave her an annoyed look, "and why would I want to do that anyway? He doesn't seem like he wants to talk to me, so why bother?"

She rolled her eyes; why does he always have to be so disagreeable, "well, for one…he's your brother. I mean, if _I_ just found out I had another brother I would have jumped at the opportunity to go talk with him. I mean really, how bad could it be?"

He growled, "Apparently you haven't met Sesshomaru. Ya know, that _other_ brother who tries to kill me every chance he gets!"

"He's nothing like Sesshomaru and you know it!" she couldn't help but raise her voice. And it was true; Inunomaru couldn't be more different than Sesshomaru, even if he _was_ a full demon. Her gut told her, and she trusted that more than anything she was told.

"I don't TRUST him!" he yelled back.

"DEAL WITH IT!" Kagome had stood up quickly and loomed over him, giving him her "I mean business" look and she sure as hell did to.

He cringed backwards and surrendered without further rebuttal, "ok ok, I'll talk to him."

Satisfied with her "skill of persuasion", she instantly went back to her cheerful self and smiled triumphantly, "good boy," she would have patted him on the head but decided against it, best not to push her luck.

"Yeah, whatever," he snorted and walked over to Inunomaru, stomping through the dirt as he did.

"Good one, Kagome," Miroku smirked as she sat back down.

She shrugged her shoulders matter-of-factly and grabbed her cup of ramen, "I just made him do what he already wanted to, nothing more."

She took a bite of noodles and giggled to herself as the sound of Inuyasha's annoyed mumbles faded into the breeze.

* * *

Inuyasha got within a couple of yards of Inunomaru and sat down in his usual doggy style. He made a quiet huff to "announce" his presence then looked off ahead of him into the sea of grass. He decided that it would be best if he acted like he had wanted to sit there from his own choice rather than being forced to by Kagome; hopefully keeping his dignity intact (though highly unlikely, their little spat at each other _was_ a bit loud).

Inunomaru made no hint of movement when he arrived, remaining silent and seemingly oblivious to his presence. His legs were crossed in front of him with his forearms resting on his knees in a meditation-like position. Inuyasha knew he knew he was there and was actually glad that Inunomaru hadn't acknowledged him. It was nice to have some quiet time, even for him.

The silence was all well and good for a while, but after about five minutes with no point to start a conversation by either of them, Inuyasha's lack of an ability to sit still finally kicked in. He started to dig his claws in the soft soil at his feet. After he got bored with fumbling in the dirt, he began to pull out pieces of grass one at a time, shredding the green leaves through his claws. He wondered if he had wasted enough time to appease Kagome, or if he should stay a little longer just in case. That girl could be so annoying, yet he listened to her like a trained pup. The grass was being yanked in threes and fours now, followed by his angry mumbles at how stupid he was to listen to her and how that next time she tried to do someth…

"You are very loud when you are annoyed," Inunomaru said blankly, eyes still closed.

Inuyasha stopped his inner/outer conversation with his conscience abruptly, "what?"

"Kagome was only trying to help."

Some help, "humph, yeah, I know," he glanced back at the group and gave the girl in the now blue pajamas a quick frown, their conversation was quiet even for his sensitive hearing, "she doesn't have to get on my back for everything I do though."

"It is only because she cares for you," the grin was audible through his words though it didn't show on his face.

That caught Inuyasha off guard, causing the sudden warmth of a blush to spread on his cheeks. He growled at his body's brainless actions, then changed the subject to something a little less Kagome related, it wasn't difficult to pick a topic, "So…what's with you and Sesshomaru?"

"What do you mean?" Inunomaru asked.

Inuyasha shrugged, "well, you seemed to be winning easily, so why not just finish him off when you had the chance?"

Inunomaru's tone changed slightly, "I would rather die than ever think of killing my own flesh and blood."

"But you _did_ beat him up pretty good though," he made sure and stated the obvious.

Inunomaru's face remained motionless, "that is different."

"You're crazy!"

"If I am crazy, then it is by choice."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and shook his hands in the air, "Ya know, there's your problem!" Inunomaru finally glanced a little in his direction, "I mean, he wouldn't hesitate to kill you at all, especially now. You've basically put a target on your back for embarrassing him like that. It would've been smarter to have just ended it right there and then!"

He nodded slightly, "Indeed, but, as you remember, he ended our fight, not I."

"Yeah well…" he didn't like being caught off guard without a good comeback, "…only cuz he didn't stand a chance! He never finishes a fight he can't win, I figured that out early," he smirked to himself as he remembered all the wonderful meetings he's had with the demon lord, "keh, always ends up runnin' away scared."

Inunomaru rearranged his position to better look at Inuyasha, "You think this cowardly?" he asked with eyebrow raised.

"And why wouldn't I?" well duh...

"Inuyasha," Inuyasha rolled his eyes over to look at him, "if he had wanted you dead, than you would have been dead. Contrary to your assumption, he has a habit of finishing what he starts. Your swords are not the only things that prevent both of you from killing each other."

"Humph," he growled and wrinkled his nose. Stupid, annoying, smart person…but, it did make some sense…no, Sesshomaru would never…

Inunomaru continued through his burbles, "Even when he was fighting me, he did not attempt to kill me. If he had truly desired that it was in his best intentions to slay me, I would not have walked away so easily, if at all."

"But…but you're so much stronger than he is!" Inuyasha raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He shook his head slightly, "I might appear stronger than him to you, but, in truth, all three of us are very equal in strength."

"I would have to disagree on that one," apparently Inunomaru hadn't seen the same fight he had. "I mean, even if you and Sesshomaru _were_ as strong as each other, which is totally bogus, he still wouldn't have given a rat's ass what happened to you."

He sighed, "If Sesshomaru was actually as black hearted as you claim, he would not have saved that little girl who travels with him. He would not have kept Jaken alive for so long. And, if he truly did not care about you in some way, he would have killed you while you were still sealed to the sacred tree."

Inuyasha suddenly was struck quiet, his eyes dug through the ground in concentration as he absorbed Inunomaru's words. _No, that's not true_, he told himself, _Sesshomaru left me there to gloat at my stupidity, and because I had the location of the Tetsusaiga. Him having any sympathy to anyone is just insane!_

"I have confused you, I am sorry," Inunomaru turned his head back forward.

"No, it's just…" he concentrated harder still trying to sort out everything, "How can I believe any of this? None of it makes any sense; I mean it's almost like you know us better than we do."

"No one can ever know you better than yourself, Inuyasha."

He growled in his head at Inunomaru's recurring "life quotes", he already knew they were going to bug him. But the recurring fact posed more questions, "Why now?" his words were quiet.

Inunomaru raised his eyebrow.

He continued without looking at him, "Why did you chose now of all times to show up?"

"Truthfully, I do not know," Inuyasha looked up at him now, unable to hide the small sign of emotion on his face.

Inunomaru continued, "I have lived life on the sidelines, watching my family grow and pass away in front of my eyes. When our father died, I regretted my choice to stay hidden," he looked down at the ground, eyes slightly narrowing as if he was trying to pick the right words to say, "I wished for so long to be acknowledged by him, to have him see me as a son, to care for me like he did for you Inuyasha, that I regretted my choice. I regretted everything…" he went silent, "then…I remembered my mother. I remembered how she gave her life to protect me as our father gave his to protect you. I could not live in further regret knowing what they did for each of us."

The hidden pain behind his words hit Inuyasha hard, striking the rock hard walls in his heart like a hammer on stone. He couldn't even comprehend at what Inunomaru had been forced to see and not been able to do anything about it. The demon had a much harder exterior than he thought.

Inunomaru looked at Inuyasha's troubled face, "do not pity me Inuyasha; the choice was mine. We all have a place to be, some to fight, some to protect; I chose the latter. I chose to take my father's place and protect both of you without interfering in the paths your lives took. As time went on, I guess that is why I finally showed myself to you both. Naraku's appearance has made everything more dangerous than before. My choice to stay hidden could no longer continue if I wanted both of you to survive."

Inuyasha took a couple of long breaths and tried to get his face back to normal, "well, we're gonna need a little more than just you being here if we want to finally get rid of Naraku."

Inunomaru grinned vaguely, "I will help as much as I am able."

Inuyasha was confused again, "as you are able?"

His grin disappeared and he sighed, "I have my limits Inuyasha."

"Okay?" _Limits? What kind of limits?_

Before he was able to continue on it, Inunomaru decided it was his turn to change the subject, "Is there anything else you wish to know?"

Though he was sure he would make sure to bring that up again sometime later, his curiosity flickered at the open ended question, "yeah…about your blades?"

His silence was his queue to continue.

"How in the world were they able to stop Sesshomaru's attacks? I mean, they don't even look like they could stand up to much of anything, none the less Toukijin," he was strangely excited now.

Inunomaru grinned at his brother's eagerness and lifted one of his arms. He tightened his fist and released the blade; it clicked sharply as it locked beside his wrist. Inuyasha jumped back at this action but his worry quickly turned to awe as he looked at the glimmering blade. It was no more than the length of his forearm and no wider than his thumb. The light from the moon reflected off of the blade more like glass then metal, giving it a type of ethereal glow.

Inuyasha's eyes were huge, "Wow"

"Inuyasha, your mouth is hanging open," Inunomaru said, slightly amused.

He closed it automatically and pointed to the blade, still completely transfixed and unaware at how childishly enthusiastic he looked, "you mean that this wimpy blade stopped Toukijin?"

He nodded, "Indeed."

"But…how?" his eyes still never left the strange blade.

"Another detail I have learned over the years. You can only reach your true potential when you master yourself."

"Ok, you lost me," Inuyasha was totally confused. Yes, "life quotes" were definitely on the annoying list now.

He folded back the blade, "do you remember when the Tetsusaiga was broken?"

Inuyasha grumbled, "Humph, yeah, how can I forget _that!_"

"When it was repaired, Totosai used one of your own fangs to reforge it. And for an extended time, you were unable to even lift the sword."

He rolled his eyes, "Don't remind me."

"When Tetsusaiga was reforged, you not only had to master your father's fang but your fang as well. You had to come to equality with your own strength and learn to stand on your own, rather than rely on your father."

Inuyasha was suddenly baffled at what Inunomaru had implied, "So…those blades are forged from your fangs?"

Inunomaru nodded.

He looked down at the Tetsusaiga, "I remember Totosai saying something like that, but, I never really understood what he was talking about." At the time, he had just put Totosai's words on the back burner, ignoring them like just some random, old-man babble. But now, he finally began to understand what he had meant.

Inunomaru grinned slightly, "He may be an unusual old man but he is smarter than you think."

His eyes rushed back to him, "Wait, did he make those to?"

He nodded, "Indeed, from what I recall, he enjoyed forging them for me a great deal."

Inuyasha looked down and growled, _how dare he not mention anything to me, that stupid old hack! _He would definitely make sure to bang him over the head the next time he showed up.

Inunomaru grinned and shook his head, "Do not blame him, Inuyasha."

He stuck his nose in the air, "Humph, still doesn't give him the right to not tell me something like _that!_"

"I would assume he had his own reasons, just as I did."

He growled, "Whatever."

Inunomaru shook his head at his brother's naïveté, "is there anything else?"

"Nah, I'm all questioned out," he was done for the night; too many emotions all at once were a little much for him to handle. Unconsciously, he wanted to save the rest of his many questions for later.

"Very well," he smiled, turned his head back to where it had been and closed his eyes again.

They were both silent for a while. Inuyasha got over his annoyance with Totosai for now and lay down on the grass with his hands behind his head, looking up at the clear sky. He was beginning to be more comfortable with accepting Inunomaru as a brother, though he still remained slightly hesitant at trusting him completely. He was, after all, a demon.

* * *

The fire at the small campsite was flickering down into ashes as the last bits of flame slowly died out. Shippo was sleeping next to Kirara, snoring quietly between her head and shoulder. Sango had fallen asleep using her hirakotsu as a pillow. Miroku, having been forced to sit opposite the girls for obvious reasons, was sitting up with his arms crossed around his staff, sleeping lightly. Kagome lay in her sleeping bag, her body angled toward Inuyasha and Inunomaru. She had been watching them for a while since they had finished dinner and gotten ready for bed.

Their conversation had seemed to go pretty well she thought. They had talked for a good forty five minutes before Inuyasha finally laid down and apparently fell asleep. At least he was comfortable with Inunomaru enough to sleep near him. It was a good start.

She smiled tiredly over at them; _thank you Inunomaru,_ she thought as she closed her eyes, _thank you for everything._

END

* * *

Writers notes:

This is a pretty short chapter, I wanted to put a little brother bonding in here somewhere and to give a little  
more background info on Inunomaru.

Thanks so much for everyone who is enjoying this, it means so much.


	5. Tenshi

**The Third Brother  
by  
jerica128**

**Chapter 5: Tenshi**

The sun was high in the sky. Kagome and the rest of the group were sitting outside of Lady Kaede's house, resting and cleaning up their weapons after traveling for a few days. Inuyasha sat out in front of the house, looking out at Inunomaru who was facing away from them a good distance from the house.

Kagome walked up to Inuyasha and sat down next to him, pulling her knees up in front of her. She smiled over at him pleasantly, "Sooooo, what you guys talk about?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "you know, asking me this every time you get the chance ain't gonna get me to tell you any faster."

She grinned wider, "Hmm, I know," Inuyasha glanced back at her, baffled, "I know you don't want to talk about it."

He growled, "Then WHY do you keep buggin' me?"

Kagome looked over at Inunomaru and sighed, "Just knowing that you had a good conversation with your brother that you want to keep between you two is good to know," she looked back at Inuyasha, "it shows that you trust each other."

Inuyasha was dumbfounded now, "That's the only reason?"

"Yup"

He smirked, "You know, you really are the strangest person I've ever met."

She knew he was kidding but couldn't help but give him a hint of a glare, "I may be strange but at least I'm good at it," she wasn't going to let Inuyasha get to her today; it was too nice of a day to ruin it this early. Speaking of a nice day, it wouldn't be complete unless they were all there to enjoy it. She stood up and took a few steps forward.

"And where are you going?" Inuyasha asked.

"I'm going to invite him to dinner, he's never gonna get used to being with all of us if he stays by himself all the time," her voice had her usual determined tone to it.

"Humph," he stuck his nose in the air, "I honestly wouldn't bother."

She turned back toward him with her hands on her hips, "and why not?"

Inuyasha grew slightly more serious, "You know how I get when we go to new villages and stuff. I bet he's no different."

"Oh…" she crossed her arms, "yeah," her eyes fell as she remembered, unless Inuyasha has a demon or something else to keep his attention, he just tends to stay by himself.

She glanced back at Inunomaru with a slight fall in her eyes, _he must feel out of place being around so many people all of a sudden,_ she thought. In the two days it took for them to reach Kaede's, Inunomaru had been silent. He greeted them in the morning and bid them good night, but apart from those brief acknowledgments, it had been like he didn't even exist. His reactions were out of habit, she decided, so it was probably best to give him time. If she rushed in too fast, she might scare him away and that wouldn't help anybody.

She looked back at Inuyasha with a small grin, "you're right."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, "I…am?"

"Yeah, I shouldn't force him; he'll warm up to us in his own time I guess," she walked back to the house without another word, leaving Inuyasha with a "what was that exactly" look on his face.

* * *

It took a few minutes for Inuyasha to finally decide that he would never understand Kagome, let alone women for that matter. He settled back into his seated position and resumed looking out at Inunomaru.

He stood perfectly still at the top of a hill, his long arms crossed across his chest. Inuyasha assumed he had heard their conversation, but he didn't really mind. Even though he was disturbingly quiet far too much, Inunomaru wasn't someone who gave the impression he would care much about what others said about him.

Inuyasha gave a big yawn just as Inunomaru changed his position from unmoving statue to unexpectedly alert. Inuyasha rushed up to his feet when he noticed Inunomaru's sudden change in position and attitude. His hand dashed to the Tetsusaiga at his side. Something wasn't right.

"What is it Inuyasha?" Miroku asked as he ran up next to him.

His eyebrows angled down harshly, "Not quite sure yet. But Inunomaru sure is riled up from something."

"What's wrong with Inunomaru?" Kagome asked curiously. Once she got next to Inuyasha, her eyes grew alarmed and confused as she looked at their guarded stances.

Sango and Shippo got up behind them.

"Maybe we should g…YAHHHHHH," Shippo's words were cut off as the ground began to shake furiously under their feet.

They all staggered their stances to keep from losing their footing as the shaking increased in intensity, forcing the ground to shift and tear. Trees began to rip from their holds in the earth, boulders rippled through the dirt like small mountains, finally, the seams gave way as a colossal demon forced parts of its body through the earth, just in front of where Inunomaru was standing. The tentacles stretched through the ground and moved threateningly through the air before crashing down hard onto the land, sending rocks and trees flying.

"Look at the size of that thing!" Miroku yelled.

"Inunomaru! Get out of there!" Kagome screamed.

Before any of them had time to do anything, he jumped back from a hurtling tentacle and disappeared, appearing again a few yards in front of them in a full crouch, blades unfolded.

"WOW he's fast!" Shippo yelled, as if stating the obvious, his eyes the size of balloons.

"Inuyasha," Inunomaru's voice was incredibly calm considering the size of the demon and the destruction it was causing to the countryside.

Inuyasha understood what was being asked, "Got it," he charged off at full speed, Tetsusaiga transforming at his side.

Kagome notched an arrow as she jumped onto Kirara behind Sango. They soared off in a blast of dust. Miroku and Shippo ran off underneath them. Meanwhile, Inunomaru watched impassively as the group rushed in to aid Inuyasha. He relaxed his stance and followed behind them without rush.

* * *

A huge tentacle crashed down toward Inuyasha. He flipped out of the way and sliced it off as another rushed up behind him like a hundred foot dagger. Before he could react, a sacred arrow blasted through it in a flash of purple-white light.

Inuyasha grinned up at Kagome, "Thanks!"

"No problem," she notched another arrow and shot at the closest tentacle to her, while Sango sent her hirakotsu flying through many at once.

Inuyasha turned back to his target and continued slicing up every tentacle that came at him, but strangely, every time he cut through one, there seemed to be two more there to replace it. He unleashed the Wind Scar, still no effect. Miroku jumped behind him breathing hard.

"We're not making any progress at all!" he yelled.

Inuyasha continued slashing, "Damnit! It's like they just grow back!"

"Do you think this could be one of Naraku's incarnations? That would explain why this demon's body keeps regenerating."

"Maybe, but I'm not getting Naraku's scent…LOOK OUT!" he jumped at Miroku and pushed him out of the way as a tentacle burst from the ground.

"INUYASHA!" Kagome screamed down at him, she turned up to Sango with an urgent look in her eyes.

Sango nodded without a word and flew Kirara low over the two men. Kagome quickly fired an arrow at the base of the demon's limb. The arrow hit the tentacle dead on, disintegrating it into sizzling ash. Unlike cutting them off, her arrows seemed to permanently stop them from growing back.

Miroku noticed what her arrows were doing to the demon, "Inuyasha, Kagome's arrows look like the only thing that have any sort of impact on the demon, they seem to be purifying it."

"Nah, really? I didn't notice. If purifying attacks are the only thing that work, do you think that your sutras would deal any damage?"

"Of course they would…but…"

"You don't have any do you?"

Miroku shook his head, mildly embarrassed, "sorry, I ran out of them earlier and haven't made any more yet."

"Well that helps a lot," he yelled up at Kagome, "Kagome! Your arrows are the only thing that works on this thing!"

She yelled back, "I know! But I don't have near enough arrows to get rid of ALL the tentacles and its main body is still underground!"

"Well can't you just aim at the ground?" he was getting aggravated; this thing was far too complicated to kill.

"I can try but I doubt that'll work!"

He growled harshly, "Just do it!"

"FINE!" Kirara flew up as Kagome aimed her arrow at the center of the mass of tentacles. She charged it as much as she could and fired. The arrow shot through the air like a missile and hit its mark dead on, sending a large blast upward. Everyone seemed hopeful until the smoke cleared. Her attack had little impact to the main body of the demon; the armor surrounding its vitals was far too strong for a single short lived attack.

"What the hell is this thing made out of?" Inuyasha snarled harshly.

Inunomaru appeared next to Inuyasha, his eyes were narrowed and contrite, "Inuyasha, get everyone out of here."

Inuyasha glared over at him, "and what exactly are you gonna do? Kagome's purifying sacred arrows are the only thing that puts a dent in it! And even a direct shot didn't do anything!"

He gave him a quick glare, "trust me," his face was still calm but had an insistent edge to it and something else that Inuyasha couldn't quite put his finger on. Whatever that other emotion was, it wasn't comforting him at all.

After another short-lived glare from Inunomaru, Inuyasha relented warily and backed off with Miroku. He was still confused at what Inunomaru was asking them to do. How could he possibly defeat this type of demon all by himself?

Miroku called back up to Sango and Kagome, "Sango, get out of there! Inunomaru said he can handle this!"

"WHAT! He's gonna get himself killed!" Sango yelled back, obviously concerned.

Kagome looked down at Inunomaru then back up to Sango, "I think we should trust him for now, if he needs any help we'll make sure and stay close just in case." He obviously knew something they didn't and she would trust in his judgment, though she couldn't help but get nervous about it.

Sango nodded, "okay."

They quickly flew back down to the ground and joined up with Inuyasha and Miroku. They all watched apprehensively as Inunomaru walked toward the giant demon, his seven foot tall form dwarfed by its sheer size. He stopped within a stone throw away and froze in place, twin blades angled down toward the ground. The clouds above the group started to swirl unnaturally and grow black. The wind picked up out of nowhere, blowing them around like wind chimes. Inuyasha grabbed and covered Kagome with his body as branches started to take to the air. Miroku, Sango and Shippo braced themselves behind the hirakotsu while Kirara curled around their back.

Kagome lifted her head from Inuyasha's shoulder, "What is he doing?" she yelled, griping his kimono tight. A small branch whipped past her face, cutting her cheek from ear to nose. She cringed at the sudden pain and ducked her head into Inuyasha's chest.

Inuyasha strained his eyes from the wind and looked back at Inunomaru. His body was utterly still from the wind but his hair blew around him furiously, like hundreds of silver threads cutting through the air. He slowly lifted one blade above his head; the wind changed its sporadic pattern and began to swirl around him and up the blade. Electricity started sparking within the dust around it, growing larger and larger from the buildup of energy generated. Inuyasha's eyes grew huge as the bolts started to arc from Inunomaru to the sky in bursts.

Inunomaru's eyes blazed a bright blue, the energy flowing through his body like a living lightning rod. His icy voice resonated through the thunder and wind, "Kami no Batsu!" his arm swung down quickly to his side. The electricity that had built up in the sky suddenly blasted down in a single lightning barrage, all bolts aimed at the demon's body hidden under the earth.

The blinding light from the bolts caused everyone to quickly shut their awestruck eyes. The shock-wave finally hit their unstable bodies, blowing them back forcefully. Inuyasha gripped Kagome tighter to him and drove his Tetsusaiga deep into the ground. He managed to crack his eyes open enough to see the entire demon disappear in blue light and disintegrate into ash. Then, all went quiet. The wind quickly stopped and the skies cleared completely, like nothing had even happened a few seconds before. Inuyasha relaxed his body and loosened his protective hold on Kagome, what his brother had just done still left him speechless.

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha, the cut on her face bled freely down her cheek and neck now, "are you ok Inuyasha?" She seemed to be completely oblivious to the pain.

Inuyasha nodded, "yeah, I'm fine," he glanced down at Kagome and quickly grew worried, "Kagome, your cheek!"

She put her hand over the cut, smearing blood over her face, "Oh…it's ok. Nothing a few butterfly bandages won't fix. It looks a lot worse than it feels," he wasn't so convinced. She ignored his eyes and looked back over to Sango and the others, "Are you guys alright?"

Miroku was helping Sango up from the ground, "Yeah, we're fine here."

"That sure was some attach," Sango said, dusting herself off.

Shippo stood and shook the dirt off him as well, "No kidding, I've never seen lightning act like that before. He actually _aimed_ it at the demon!"

"How did it get _rid_ of the demon though?" Miroku asked, "Ordinary lightning would have had the same effect as any of our attacks would, wouldn't it?"

"It must have been some sort of purifying lightning, that's the only explanation that could…" she turned back to the massive hole where the demon had hid its body, the common jolt hitting her suddenly, "Wait…I'm sensing a jewel shard!"

"Where is it Kagome?" Inuyasha asked without delay.

She pointed to the hole, "Down there, it must have been down deep in the demon for me not to pick it up."

Shippo hopped next to Kagome, "Hey, where did Inunomaru go?" he asked.

Fear spread across her face, as she realized he was still missing, "You don't suppose that he could have been hit with his own attack!"

Inuyasha stepped in front of her, "Get on, we'll find that jewel shard and Inunomaru, don't worry."

She jumped on his back and he leapt off toward the crater.

* * *

The smoke was billowing out of the half-mile wide hole, reducing all visibility into its center. Once Inuyasha jumped over the edge of the crater, he spotted Inunomaru kneeling down through the smoke. A small twinge of worry crossed his expression as his sensitive ears caught the faint sounds of his labored breathing. Maybe this is what Inunomaru was talking about when he said he had limits. This was something he hadn't expected at all from someone like him.

Kagome spotted Inunomaru as well, "Is he ok?" her hands gripped tighter onto his kimono.

He glanced back at her and tried to calm her down, "Don't worry, we'll find out when we land."

They landed behind his still kneeling form. Before Inunomaru stood up, Inuyasha noticed him make a discrete motion with his hand, like he was wiping something off of his face. He slowly straitened up as Kagome jumped off of his back and rushed over to his brother.

"Are…are you alright?" she said through gasps of breath.

Inunomaru turned slightly and gave her a weary grin, "I am perfectly fine Lady Kagome. You have been injured though."

She looked down, clearly embarrassed, "It's just a little scratch, nothing new."

Inunomaru looked over at Inuyasha, "are you alright?"

The second Inunomaru had turned around, Inuyasha caught the specific smell of demon blood. He looked over his brother quickly and picked out a small stain that darkened the red hem on his kimono. _That's what he was wiping off_, he thought. The stress on his body from that attack had caused his nose to bleed and the guy was trying to hide any signs of it by acting perfectly fine! _What an idiot!_

He threw Inunomaru a quick, disapproving glare then morphed it into a cocky smirk, "Keh, I'm fine. Not a cut on me," he had to put some kind of brave face on for Kagome.

"Indeed," Inunomaru forced out, his breath still slightly shallow, and gave Inuyasha his own short-lived glare.

Inuyasha could tell that he knew what he had picked up and, unfortunately, Inuyasha knew Inunomaru wouldn't allow these events to leave this crater so it would be pointless to delve into it any further.

"Well, shall we go find the jewel shard then?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha smiled again at her, "we better hurry, I'm starving."

"Typical," she said, adjusting her bow around her shoulder.

* * *

Apart from the change in scenery out in the surrounding forest, everything went as much back to normal as possible. After they found the shard, everyone returned to Kaede's house for a simple dinner. As usual, Inunomaru remained outside, but instead of keeping a large distance away from them, he sat quietly beneath the old tree down the hill from the house. Their cheery conversation was easily heard through the thin walls.

Shippo was finishing the noodles and fish Kaede had prepared with childish ferocity. Once he had inhaled his meal, he sat the bowl down and looked over at the door, "So was Inunomaru not hungry?"

Inuyasha was leaning next to a wall, his hands behind his head. "Nobody asked him," he shrugged indifferently.

Shippo gave him a frown, "Well that's not nice."

Inuyasha shrugged again and ignored him. Just as Shippo was about to start a fight, Kagome stood up, grabbed a full bowl and exited the house without a word. Everyone went silent and gave the door a blank look.

"Where's she goin'?" Inuyasha asked.

Miroku sipped his tea blankly, "Seems to me you might have a little bit of competition, Inuyasha."

He snarled, "What do you mean? What kind of competition?"

Shippo crossed his arms, "Inuyasha, you're such an idiot."

"What are you guys talking about?" he asked, completely unaware.

They all giggled.

* * *

Kagome walked slowly down the small hill, making sure she didn't spill the hot liquid in her hands. She stopped a few feet off to his side and sat down awkwardly, placing the bowl of noodles between them. His eyes remained closed and he stayed perfectly still, like he hadn't even noticed she was there. He seemed to have a habit of that, she noticed.

She pulled her legs up in front of her and wrapped her arms around them, fiddling with her fingers. She tried to keep her eyes on the ground but glanced up at him every few seconds, his ability to stay so still completely astounded her. Had to be a demon thing, she assumed. She also noticed that he looked drained, like his strength had been sucked out of him. He had been on his knees when she and Inuyasha found him, but he seemed to be perfectly fine afterwards so she hadn't given it much consideration. _Anyone would be worn out from an attack like that_, she thought, even Inunomaru. She went back to counting the creases on her knuckles.

"Thank you," his deep, smooth voice broke through the silence.

She looked back over at him, clearly surprised at his statement. A slight blush spread across her face against her will, "y…you're welcome," she forced herself to back to the ground to try and keep from staring at him. It sure didn't take much for him to make her feel completely uncomfortable. Another demon thing she guessed.

"Does your cheek hurt?" he asked.

"Hmm?" she looked back up and met his sideward gaze, her flushed color grew slightly; "it…it's a little deeper than I thought," she looked back down to hide her discomfiture, "it'll leave a scar but…it…doesn't really hurt anymore."

He gradually uncrossed his arms and lifted his hand, holding it inches from her face.

The change in the air temperature on her skin made her turn her head slightly. She jumped and leaned fearfully away when she noticed how near his hand was to her. The blush that had been stable, flared bright red, "Wh…wha…what are you d…doing?" she squeaked.

His golden eyes remained calm and locked with hers, "Do not worry Kagome, I am not going to harm you in any way."

"O…k…" she relaxed slightly but her face stayed a vivid red. _Awkward awkward awkward…_

A soft white glow started to come from his hand. Her heart started racing faster than before as the skin from her cheek began to heat up and tingle. In a matter of seconds, her cut began to disappear, the skin stretching and melding together. The focus in his intense golden stare made her mind race wildly, _how can anyone be so perfect…it should be illegal for someone to look like that…he looks like some kind of angel…I wonder what he tastes like…holy cow did I just imagine kissing him!...what is wrong with you…get your mind out of the gutter…bad Kagome BAD…_ her embarrassment turned to surprise as she saw a fresh cut slowly slice through the skin of his cheek, right where hers had been only moments before.

"Inu…nomaru, your face," she motioned toward the cut, the blood now running down his pale skin.

The glow from his hand dimmed and he lowered it back to his lap. He remained silent but his eyes stayed locked with hers, a deep unknown emotion flowing through them. She had never seen this look on him before. She couldn't help but stare back, drawn in by the liquid honey. His eyes fell down to her lips, then, before she had noticed it, he quickly turned his head away from her. "I am sorry…" his voice and appearance seemingly returned to normal but his body remained stiff, as if he was beating himself up inside for what he had just done.

She raised an eyebrow, "For bleeding?"

He closed his eyes, "No. It is…another side effect of the health transfer…unfortunately, there is also a level of…emotional and thought transfer as well."

Her eyes grew huge, "You mean…you heard all of th…that?" _Kagome you idiot!_

His head dropped slightly, "Again, I am sorry, I do not feel emotions like humans do and…I honestly do not know how to react to them," he didn't let his embarrassment show but she read through his words.

"Don't beat yourself up about that. I'm the one who should be sorry. I was the one with the dirty mind," he glanced vacantly back at her, making her blushed again. She bit her lip, obviously uncomfortable. This wasn't what she had planned when she decided to offer him dinner. Damn her female reactions to cute guys! So childish!

A small smirk appeared on his face, "Tenshi."

She squeaked, "Wh…what?" her embarrassment contorted her face as she tried to hold it in.

"My first name."

She looked back up quickly, curiosity beating out embarrassment, "First name?"

He nodded, "The name my mother gave to me before she died. I changed my name to Inunomaru in honor of my father."

"Wow…" she was quite intrigued that he would share something so personal with her, "so can I…?"

He gave her another small grin, "I would rather keep this between you and I. But you may call me Tenshi if you decide to bring me food again," his statement was not meant to be sarcastic but it made her blush return.

She took this as the best opportunity to end their conversation for the night before it got even more awkward than it already was. She bit her lip again then stood up, grabbing the still full bowl of noodles. "Well…if you ever need food you won't eat, then just ask. I'm always up for a good quiet conversation once in a while. I don't get that much with all the craziness around," she said smiling pleasantly.

He bowed his head respectfully, "I will."

"Goodnight, Tenshi"

"Goodnight"

She backed up a few steps, still smiling, then turned around and returned to the house.

END

* * *

Writers notes:

Well this chapter has quite a few things going on, definitely proved a challenge to keep at a reasonable length.  
But I'm trying to keep each chapter around the same length so...yeah.

fyi: Tenshi means angel in Japanese in case you didn't catch that ;)

More to come soon. Thanks to all you guys who have commented and faved, it means so much :D

**Edit: **changed this up a lot since after a few read throughs.


	6. Directions and Plans

**The Third Brother  
by  
jerica128**

**Chapter 6: Directions and Plans**

"Soooooo, what did you two talk about last night?" Sango leaned up to Kagome, a sly grin stretching across her sweet face.

Kagome blushed slightly but waved it off, "Not really anything, he's not much of a talker. He did thank me for the food though, even though he didn't eat any of it."

Sango's grin widened mischievously, "and what about _that_?" she pointed to Kagome's healed face.

Her hand flew up to her cheek hard enough to give herself a quick slap, she cringed a little at her self-harming reaction and blushed even stronger, "um…he…he healed me," she had completely forgotten about Inunomaru's "ability" he showed last night. Her brain had been a little preoccupied on other things then.

Inuyasha automatically butted in, apparently listening in on the girls "private" conversation, "and how in the world could he have done that?" he jumped over to them and leaned in a bit too close to Kagome's face, curious eyes focused on her cheek.

Kagome's blush flared furiously now, turning from embarrassment to anger, "How am I supposed to know how he did it? He just did!"

Her rebuttal was useless; he wasn't paying attention at all. His hand came up to grab under her chin and moved her face back and forth to get a better look at it, "Wow, not even a scar!"

She slapped his hand out of the way and growled at him, "Can I please have my face back?" she moved her jaw around sorely, she felt like some sort of messed up bobble-head, getting her head flung around like that, "If you're so fascinated by it, then go cut yourself and see if he decides to heal you or just laugh at your expense!"

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea…" he grinned to himself.

"Ahh, you're such an idiot!" she got up and stormed out of the house. Her day was off to a bang-up start. She could have definitely used an Inuyasha shaped bobble-head right now to fling around.

* * *

Sango gave Inuyasha an icy glare. Her fingers seemed to dig into the sleeves of her haori.

He shrugged his shoulders and gave her an innocent smirk, "What? It was just a joke," he didn't really mean for his comment to get Kagome so angry but be as it were, he always seemed to be able to get her fuming with his tries at humor. Sango was apparently no different.

"Gah, you're so heartless," she spat at him and stormed out like Kagome.

_Typical females._ He growled, "Now what?"

"Well, Kagome is angry that you failed to show any appreciation for Inunomaru healing her and Sango is angry because you didn't show Kagome any sensitivity for her feelings," Miroku blankly said as he sipped his morning tea.

"Maybe you should go and apologize to them," Shippo said, trying to mirror Miroku's blank attitude.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and pouted. He didn't want to deal with both the girls at the same time; that was worse than any demon. Besides, if anyone should be apologizing it should be Kagome. As he remembered, he had covered Kagome from the effects of his "brother's" actions. He would have been ripped to shreds had it not been for the shield of the Tetsusaiga and his fire-rat kimono. All Kagome got out of it was a little scratch which was gone now so why was she complaining?

"Inuyasha," Kaede said, "Ye will go and apologize to Lady Kagome," her aged face gave him a sharp stare while her crackling tone solidified the order.

"Humph," he growled. _Yeah right!_

"INUYASHA!"

"Ok ok, shesh!" he got up and stamped to the door, the pout never leaving his face as he hesitantly stepped out of the house. Again, it seemed like the powers of a woman's resolve were too much for him to handle.

He saw Kagome and Sango standing just off the porch, facing away from him in the same cross-armed position. Their fuming body positions gave him a pang of terror deep in his gut. Maybe it would have been safer to have stayed in the house after all. His fears were realized the second he got up the bravery to step off the porch.

"SIT!"

**BAAM!**

_Damnit!_

* * *

Kagome and Sango giggled.

Inuyasha popped his head out of his hole and glared at her with his dirt covered face, "What the hell was that for! I was coming out to apologize!"

Kagome walked up and knelt in front of him, a smile plastered on her face, "Really?" she gave her word an overly high pitched tone for a second then turned her attitude around and narrowed her eyes into a sharp glower, "I don't believe you."

He turned his head away and mumbled, "I'm…I'm sorry. You happy?"

She stood and crossed her arms, "not hardly, but I'll accept it."

She knew that Miroku and the others had to have forced him to apologize because he would have never done so on his own. But, an apology was an apology, so she could smile and deal with it for now. She had gotten what she wanted.

She looked back up to the house just as Miroku and Shippo walked eagerly onto the porch, followed closely by Kaede. The common sound of Inuyasha's face hitting the ground was enough to get anyone's attention, though Kagome figured they had expected it anyway.

"Guess she wasn't as forgiving as we thought," Miroku grinned, confirming her assumption.

Inuyasha growled and pulled himself from his hole, "Glad for the support."

Kagome giggled again but stopped mid-laugh as Inunomaru stepped up the hill into view. He walked silently over to them, looked down at the Inuyasha-shaped hole in the ground then back at the dirt covered Inuyasha. Kagome caught the slight tint of amusement pass through his eyes, just as a low snarl came from the dirty half-demon behind her. Well, somebody sure wasn't happy with Inunomaru's reaction.

She ignored Inuyasha's stupid little retort and almost skipped over to Inunomaru, "Good morning, Inunomaru, how are you?" She didn't notice how her attitude seemed to completely change when he appeared or the amused grins that Miroku and Sango exchanged at her unusually bubbly reaction.

Inunomaru nodded in greeting, "I am well, Lady Kagome." Much to Kagome's chagrin, the soft persona he had given her a glint of last night had been replaced by his usual stone-like exterior. She should have expected as much though, he _was_ related to Inuyasha and Sesshomaru after all, got to love the genetic brick wall.

He turned his gaze away from her and to the rest of the group, "I have found something that will be of great interest to all of you." Without another word, he turned around and headed for the demon crater.

"You not gonna tell us what it is?" Inuyasha asked.

He continued walking, "Why tell you when you are going to see it for yourself?"

Inuyasha was obviously going to hand in another try at a comeback to Inunomaru's comments, but was abruptly cut off as Kagome and the rest of the group walked past him and followed Inunomaru down the hill.

Kagome stopped halfway down the hill and looked back at him with a sarcastic but positive grin, "Are you coming or are you just gonna stand there like a bump on a log?"

She grinned wider as he smirked back at her, "Whatever."

* * *

The crater was just as massive as she had remembered. The ground caved down into the earth in a giant sinkhole and the remnants of smoke still snaked out from between the ruble like ghostly serpents through the air. She couldn't hold back the shiver from the memory.

Inunomaru lead them across the many piles of rock to what looked like a mass of shredded white fur. Upon further inspection, the remains of a baboon head were noticeably scattered within it. _So much for the day getting better, _she thought.

"Naraku's demon puppet!" Sango gasped, taking the words out of her mouth, "but how could we have missed…?"

"This was no ordinary demon puppet Sango," Miroku said. "Somehow, Naraku was able to create a puppet that could not only use and hide the presence of a jewel shard, but also be completely impervious to our normal attacks. I mean, even though its main body was underground, Kagome still should have been able to pick up the presence of a shard and Inuyasha should have been able to pick up his scent. There is no other reasonable explanation for it."

"We definitely got a fight on our hands now if Naraku can pull something like this off," Inuyasha snarled as he crushed a piece of singed fur in his hand.

Kagome turned to Inunomaru, "how did you find this?"

"I caught the scent this morning and found the remains buried here," he took a few steps to their left, "I also discovered this," he motioned to a caved-in tunnel towards the northeast. The demon seemed to have traveled deeper underground before rising to the surface to attack.

"I'll bet ya if we head in that direction we should run into Naraku sooner or later," Inuyasha smirked.

Inunomaru nodded, "Indeed."

"Then we have no time to waste," Miroku stood up from the remains, determined and eager.

Kagome halted their excitement temporarily, "If we're going to run all the way to the other side of the country, I'm gonna need to run back to my time and get some supplies. I'm running low on first-aid equipment," she said. It had only been a few weeks since the last time she went home but if they were planning on traveling a long way, she wanted to be adequately prepared.

"Isn't that why we have Inunomaru here?" Inuyasha said with a cocky smirk.

Kagome could have passed for a tomato.

* * *

Naraku grinned at the image in Kanna's mirror. Everything was all going according to his plans. The remains of his demon puppet had been planted and the path toward his castle had been laid before them.

The appearance of the newest member of Inuyasha's group made his grin widen and his eyes shine with malice. There was something about this demon that sparked his interest greatly. Inunomaru's ability to use purifying attacks solely left for priests and priestesses was nowhere near as intriguing to him as the aura that permeated from him.

"Well well, so Inuyasha appears to have another brother now does he? Most exciting," he said.

"He seems to be very powerful," Kanna said in her eerie monotone.

"Powerful and foolish," a laugh sounded deep in his chest, "he pushed his body to exhaustion to protect Inuyasha and the others. If he is willing to kill himself so effortlessly for them, he will be more than easy to manipulate. Let us see how far we can push you, Inunomaru…"

Naraku's eyes tinted blood red as the image in the glass faded.

END

* * *

END PART 1...

This is very short and simple as planned. Didn't have a lot of details I wanted to put in here  
but it sets the main plot into motion ;)

Enter Naraku (sound ominous noise, bum Bum BUM)

Who else is worried? I am ;)

Now on to Part 2 -


	7. Interlude 1

**Interlude 1**

**Life:** is it the process of breathing, eating, surviving or is there a deeper meaning behind it? Is the true meaning of life the willingness to

take life or give your own life for the ones you hold dear? To risk ones soul to be lost forever in darkness so others can live in paradise?

This choice can control your life or free it, it is merely the choice.

**Secrets:** some go down so deep in someone's self-conscious that they themselves disappear from thought, vanishing from their owner until they

are all but forgotten. These secrets can haunt their owner, when one forgets their own secret, they do not believe the true truth it holds on their

soul and cannot grasp the true power it can possess. Should these secrets have ever been made? Should they have been turned into a vice

around their heart or left free to poison or save others? If one allows these secrets to arise in their memory would they be lost, or found?

* * *

Writers notes:

Again, love all of the support from all of you guys and will be sure to continue as soon as I can.

Cheers,

jerica128


	8. Fear

**NOTE: If you haven't reread chapter 5 and 6 in a while (especially ch. 5) then do so now before continuing or you will most likely be confused...**

**Anyways, just wanted to tell you beforehand. Onward...

* * *

  
**

**The Third Brother  
by  
jerica128**

**Chapter 7: Fear**

"One more, one more!...hehe…WEEEEEEEE…" Shippo cheered.

"Could you _please_ stop that?" Inuyasha yelled, pulling his ears flat against his head.

"WEEEEEEE! Why? You've never let me swing on your kimono before." Shippo said, as he swung himself back and forth from Inunomaru's kimono sleeve. "WEEEEE…WEEEEHEHE…"

"I think you can see why," Inuyasha cringed again, "Kagome, help."

Kagome rolled her eyes beside him, "oh come on Inuyasha, just let him play. He is a kid after all."

"Humph," seeing that Kagome wasn't going to help his predicament, he decided to try and change his strategy. Maybe going to the source could help his ears, "Inunomaru, this was your idea in the first place. Doesn't that noise bug you at all? It sounds like nails on slate!"

Inunomaru looked up from watching Shippo swing, his eyes smiling, "I have no quandary with allowing the child to enjoy himself, Inuyasha," he said, "but, if you would like, you are more than welcome to take him off of my hands. The noise is not quite as bothersome if you are involved."

"I'll pass," Inuyasha grumbled. That was the third time Inunomaru had offered to pass Shippo over to him. It wasn't going to work, no way, no how!

"Very well," he waved his arm again and gave Shippo one more big swing, queing another high-pitched cheer from the kit hanging off the bottom of his kimono and another grimace from the half demon in front of him.

It wasn't gonna work… "WEEEEE…" nope, never, "WEEEEEEEE…" no No NO!…

…Ten minutes later, Inuyasha had Shippo swinging from his kimono, looking more annoyed than ever. Shippo on the other hand was still cheering and even seemed happier now that he had Inuyasha as a swing.

"Do you _ever_ get tired of this Shippo?" he moaned.

Shippo giggled brightly, "Nope!"

"Five more minutes and I'm done. I ain't gonna swing you around forever and my arm's gettin' tired," he said, trying to make a good excuse.

"Ten"

"Five"

"Eight"

"Six"

"Seven"

"Nine"

"Done"

"Wait, what?"

"Nine more minutes and I'll stop," Shippo grinned.

Inuyasha started counting in his head, "but…I…didn…GAH!" he stuck his lip out in a big pout. Outwitted by child, just perfect.

Kagome couldn't hold it in any longer and laughed out loud, getting a wonderful glare from Inuyasha, "hey, don't get mad at me, you got yourself into this mess _all_ by yourself."

He snorted and swung Shippo again, almost getting him to go all the way around his arm. His eyes never left Kagome, "well, if _Inunomaru_ hadn't decided that Shippo looked bored then _I_ wouldn't be doing this at all!"

She smirked, "oh you know you enjoy it."

"Keh, next time you won't be so luck…y…" he looked over his shoulder to gripe at Inunomaru, only to find an empty path.

Inuyasha stopped in his tracks, dropping Shippo to the ground with a thud.

"Hey, I still had two minutes left!" he complained.

Inuyasha ignored him, "Miroku, Sango," he said to the couple at the front of the group, "did ya'll see where Inunomaru went?"

They walked up next to him, "no, we haven't looked back in a while. Not since he finally persuaded you take Shippo," Sango said.

He looked over at Kagome, "Have you?"

She shook her head, "no, but he could have easily slipped off anytime, he's so quiet," her cheery demeanor changing rapidly to worry as she looked at Inuyasha.

She had good meaning to get worried to. Inuyasha couldn't hide his own concern, for he already had a slight idea as to why Inunomaru had disappeared, though he was hoping it was just a bad guess.

He looked all around behind them, trying to see if he could spot the unnaturally white color of his brother's kimono. There was no visual sign of him anywhere. No footprints, no indentions in the grass that could have given an idea as to where he had gone. He closed his eyes and turned his ears in all directions, taking a few deep breaths through his nose.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome said quietly.

"Shh," he said, never opening his eyes.

He could always hear and smell better when his eyes were cut off. The less senses he used, the more accurate they could be. He turned his ears around again and took in another slow breath. His fears were confirmed this time. The familiar sound from the day before filled his ears and an even stronger smell of demon blood burst through his nose like an iron mace.

His eyes flew open, suddenly dead serious, "I'll be back in a minute."

"I'll come with you," Kagome said and started to take off her backpack,

"No," she froze, his demand came out a little harsher than he had planned. He tried to soften the rest with a calm face, "stay here with the others, I won't be long."

"Bu…"

Inuyasha started to run off, "just stay here okay, I need to handle this myself."

As he widened the distance from the others, he caught the sound of Kagome's worried voice through the rush of wind past his ears, "something's wrong."

He couldn't help but agree with her this time, as he quickened his pace.

* * *

The scent was getting stronger, he was getting close. Inuyasha stopped to see if he could pick up the direction the sounds and smells were coming from. The wind didn't help much for the smell but the sounds of Inunomaru's slow, labored breathing was much clearer, coming off to his left in the trees. He changed his direction and followed his ears.

"Inunomaru!" Inuyasha called out, trying to get a response.

When he got nothing, he stopped and smelled the air again. Luckily, the trees blocked most of the wind, so a clear direction was easy to locate this time. He ran a few more meters then spotted what he had been looking for.

Inunomaru was leaning up against a tree, his hand wrapped around his chest loosely. The small remnants of a track of dried blood trailed down from his nose and the edge of his mouth, tinting his pale skin. It looked like Inuyasha had missed the worse of it, but Inunomaru's lungs still sounded weak and his body looked tired and sunken, a far cry from the demon Inuyasha was used to.

Inuyasha walked up to him, too stunned at what he saw to speak. He had been perfectly fine earlier. Swinging Shippo around for over an hour could take a lot out of a guy, but he didn't even seem to be fazed at all. He thought about the day before, when Kagome and he had found Inunomaru on his knees in the crater. But even after that massive attack, he hadn't been this indisposed. Why was he reacting like this now, a day later?

Inunomaru cracked his eyes and gave him a cold, knife-like glare, "you should not have followed me, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha came out of his stupor, "What?"

His tone kept its acidic quality, "why are you here?"

Inuyasha knelt down and glared straight at him, "Why am I here? Why do you _think_ I'm here? This isn't a little nosebleed like yesterday. Tell me what's going on."

"You…do not need to worry yourself…about my well being," he turned his head away from Inuyasha's harsh frown.

"BULL SHIT!"

He was silent for a few seconds then took as deep a breath as he could and closed his eyes, "this…is a normal response…after I use an attack like you saw yesterday."

"Normal? You mean this has happened before?"

"Indeed"

"How many?"

"Four, if you count yesterday."

His eyes got huge, "you mean to tell me, you've only used that attack four times in your whole life?"

His silence confirmed the question.

"And you've ended up coughing up blood every time?"

"No"

"What?"

"A demon's…physiology…is not made to handle attacks of that nature. I…miscalculated how much energy needed…I was foolish."

Inuyasha stood up, yelling at him now, "foolish? You were a complete IDIOT! If we had known what something like that would do to you, we_"

"_would have stopped me?" Inunomaru looked up at him again; his eyes were void of any emotion but were not cold like they had been before, "if I had not done what I did…than all of you…would most likely be dead. This was my choice. I knew of the consequences…and was willing to deal with them."

Inuyasha's ears were flat on his head now. He growled and shouted hard at the ground, "we…we would have figured something out! We always do!"

"Inuyasha"

He growled again, but his anger calmed down slightly from Inunomaru's quiet tone, "what?"

"Look at me."

He raised his eyes.

"I will be fine."

He narrowed his eyes to slits, "I don't believe you."

"Trust…can be a powerful thing…when you do not doubt it."

Inuyasha turned away from him and crossed his arms, "yeah, whatever."

Inunomaru sighed and laid his head back on the tree.

Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder; the anger on his face slowly went back to concern as he looked him over again. Normal color had returned to Inunomaru's face, but the remnants of blood that still remained there couldn't change Inuyasha's attitude on the matter. The effects on Inunomaru's body from an attack like yesterday clearly got worse the more often he used it. If this was only the fourth time he's used that attack like he had said, and he was already coughing up a lung, then how much worse will it be the next time?

Inuyasha turned back to the trees in front of him, vowing then and there that he wouldn't allow this to happen ever again. Just cuz Inunomaru's stupid enough to do this to himself, doesn't mean that he was gonna let him.

The small rustle of fabric behind him brought him out of his inner declarations. He looked over at Inunomaru who now stood upright.

"Shall we return to the others?" he said, voice still quiet but normal.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. After everything that had just occurred, the guy still had the gall to act like nothing had happened. Seriously!

"Yeah, Kagome was pretty worried when I ran off," he said, not able to come up with anything better to say.

"You should apologize to her for overreacting,"

"I didn't overreact."

Inunomaru walked past him, "Indeed."

Inuyasha growled and ran up next to him, "you know, you say that way too much."

"Indeed."

"GAH, really…"

* * *

Kagome forced everyone to stay put until Inuyasha and Inunomaru returned. The way Inuyasha had reacted when he caught his brother's scent had scared her stiff.

Why had Inunomaru run off? And why was Inuyasha so scared about it? What had he picked up?

"Kagome, I wouldn't worry so much," Sango said, "Inuyasha does have a tendency to overly dramatize things sometimes."

Her attitude didn't get any better, "but not like that, he was really worried."

Sango put her hand on Kagome's shoulder comfortingly, "it'll all be fine, okay. Watch, I'll bet they'll show up any minute now."

"Arguing?" Shippo said.

"Probably,"

"Inuyasha sulking like a child?" Miroku added.

"Maybe…wait. How are you…?"

"Because they're walking up right now," Miroku said, pointing over their shoulders.

Kagome and Sango turned around just as Inuyasha and Inunomaru came into ear shot. Inuyasha was clearly pissed about something Inunomaru had said. Inunomaru looked tired, but other than that, he looked fine. The question jumped into Kagome's mind again. Why was Inuyasha so worried earlier?

The way they were acting made her fume. She jumped up and ran up to the silver-haired demons, stomping her feet as she went.

The second she reached them, she let Inuyasha have it, "you had me worried sick! You were all freaking out, scaring me to death and then ya'll show up all hunky dory, like nothing happened! How dare you do that to me!"

Inuyasha shrunk down, "b…but…"

"And YOU!" she waved her finger in front of Inunomaru's face, "why did you sneak off without telling us? You could have at least given us a 'hey, I'll be back in a few minutes,' you just flat out disappeared! Explain yourself!"

Inunomaru was speechless; it was almost comical seeing how surprised and intimidated he was at being yelled at by a girl a foot and a half shorter than he was. Gold star for Kagome.

He opened his mouth to try and say something, "No, I'm not gonna hear your excuses. Sit down, both of you!" she yelled again, pointing down at the rest of the group.

Inuyasha almost leapt over to the others. Inunomaru regained his composure, nodded respectfully and walked past her, taking a spot next to Shippo, who jumped up onto his shoulder.

"She's scary when she's angry," Shippo whispered.

"Indeed" Inunomaru agreed with him quietly.

The others were still flabbergasted, their mouths hanging wide open. Did Kagome really just do what they thought she did?

Kagome turned back around, eyes closed, lips pursed and took one long calming breath, "well, now that I have that out of my system. How 'bout lunch? All this worrying about things that I apparently shouldn't have been worrying about has made me hungry."

Everyone agreed without a word. There wasn't anyone alive, human or demon, who was brave enough to take on Kagome right now.

* * *

Totosai blew hard on the sword he was currently working on. The flames bursting from his mouth softened the metal enough for him to bang it into the shape he wanted. His hammer shot up sprays of sparks as he hit the glowing metal with professional accuracy. He was so intent in his work that he didn't even react as a visitor blocked out the light from his door.

"And to what do I owe this wonderful occasion Sesshomaru?" he said as he struck the metal again.

Sesshomaru ducked under Totosai's short door entrance, standing slightly hunchbacked from the low ceiling. Though his position looked uncomfortable, he still managed to keep his cold, intimidating demeanor, "What do you know about the demon called Inunomaru?"

Totosai grumbled with a slight snort, "mm, who?"

"Answer me."

Totosai didn't respond to the threat and kept on with his work, "Inunomaru, Inu…no…maru…hmm…nope, never heard of him."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, "he used blades that only could have been made by you."

"Ah, so you got beat up by some demon and you automatically think that I made the weapons he beat you with. Maybe you should go and ask_"

"_he claims to be my brother," Sesshomaru cut him off harshly.

Totosai went still.

"Your silence contradicts your prior statements, Totosai," he said with a dark glare.

Totosai put down his hammer and turned around to look at the demon lord beside him, replying with a slightly mocking tone, "he wouldn't happen to be the splitting image of Inu no Taisho and have more manners than both of you boys combined would he?"

It was Sesshomaru's turn to be quiet. He glowered back at Totosai, voicing his inner disapproval with his eyes.

Clearly happy that he had hit a nerve; Totosai continued with a cheerful mumble, "Yes, I made his Tsuingarasu. One of the most fun I've had making blades in a while I might add. It's amazing what you can get out of something so sma…"

"You are wasting my time, old man."

Totosai closed his eyes, scratching his head with a senile smirk, "yup, definitely more patience than both of you."

"Totosai"

He turned back down to the sword on his anvil, "Well, there were many hints that would suggest he is but just as many saying he isn't, I guess it's just a matter of perspective," he glanced back at Sesshomaru, "the question is, do _you_ think he's your brother?"

The sounds of hammer on metal ticked off the seconds as Sesshomaru remained quiet, like he was thinking of the proper answer. After a short while, he finally replied with a quiet, "no."

A burst of flame from Totosai's mouth broke through the brimstone tinted air, "then he isn't your brother, as simple as that."

Sesshomaru had had enough of Totosai's ramblings, it was clear he wasn't going to get anything else from him, "you have been of no help at all, old man," he said as he turned to leave, "since you will not give me the information I desire in a clear manner, then I will seek what I want elsewhere."

"Sesshomaru," Totosai called, stopping him, "if this is really what you want, make sure you are prepared for what you may find. Sometimes it's best to just let the sleeping tiger lay."

After all of the years he had known Totosai, Sesshomaru had never completely understood the workings of his ancient brain. But, of all the things Totosai could have said to him, the use of his own father's words to warn him did nothing but increase his curiosity. Inunomaru was hiding something, that much was clear. What it was, was uncertain, but he would get the answers he desired one way or another.

There were others that could have information on Inunomaru; others that would be easier to persuade. There was one more individual in particular that could be quite helpful. If Inunomaru had something he wanted to hide, then he would be the one to know what it is.

END

* * *

Writers Notes:

This chapter is all over the place I know, but it was giving me alot of problems so bear with me *hugs*

Sooooooooooooooo, yeah...if you guys have any hints on fixing anything, they are more than welcome :D


	9. The Specter

**Before you start reading, I wanted to hand out some big thanks to my new beta-readers EmeraldStarFire and Malixk13 from DA. You guys are awesome!**

* * *

**The Third Brother  
by  
jerica128**

**The Specter**

Inunomaru's disappearances had stopped. After Inuyasha had found him a few days before, he had only "taken his leave" from the group once. Inuyasha assumed that he had finally recovered completely from his purifying attack he performed a few days earlier. About time as well. As their travels to the northeast continued, Kagome, as well as the others, began to pick up a strange, dark aura. Definitely not Naraku, but sinister nontheless.

They had picked up their pace. Kagome rode on Inuyasha's back while Sango and Miroku flew up above them on Kirara. Inunomaru ran alongside Inuyasha, with Shippo holding tight onto his shoulders.

Inuyasha sniffed the air. "It smells of wolves here," he said, growling slightly.

"It does?" Kagome asked.

"This scent belongs to Kouga if I am not mistaken," Inunomaru said.

"Yeah," Inuyasha agreed with a mild sneer, "there's only one wolf around with _this_ distinct smell. It _has_ to be him."

Miroku nodded in accord, "If both of your senses are correct and it is in fact Kouga, then he must be heading to the northeast in search of Naraku, just as we are."

"I wonder if he's found something that could help us," Sango replied, "we haven't had any luck finding clues as to where Naraku is or even why he came in this direction."

"Did someone mention Kouga?" The words came from a soft female voice out ahead of them.

Kagome glanced in that direction, "Hey, I recognize that voice."

A small burst of wind rushed out in front of them and dissipated, revealing a tired looking Ayame. Inuyasha barely had time to slide to a stop before running into the young wolf demon. The others stopped beside him.

"Ayame?" Kagome jumped off of Inuyasha's back, mildly surprised that they would run into her in this part of the countryside. As she remembered, Ayame and her pack lived high in the mountains. Her body looked physically worn out, as if she had been running for quite a while.

Ayame walked up slowly to them, suddenly cautious when she saw Inunomaru standing unnervingly still behind Inuyasha. Kagome noticed her hesitation and tried to reassure her. "Don't worry about him, Ayame. This is Inunomaru, Inuyasha's older brother…well…oldest brother actually. He joined up with us not too long ago."

Ayame wasn't very convinced but she relaxed slightly anyway.

Kagome had expected this kind of reaction; it was getting normal for them to have people be a little overly cautious around Inunomaru. However, that probably wouldn't change anytime soon so all she could do was go with it…or change the subject. "I thought you went back to the Northern Mountains after we met the last time? Why are you so far down here?"

Her strategy worked, Ayame sighed and lowered her head, "I did, but…"

"But what?"

"…but…we fled after a monster came after us."

"Monster?"

She looked back up at them, the pain bleeding through her eyes, and nodded. "Yes, it…devours demons." Even saying those few words seemed to cause her shivers.

Inuyasha growled slightly. "I don't like the sound of that."

"What kind of beast could this be that drives out such a powerful pack from their land?" Sango asked.

"I will give all of you more information later," Ayame said as she turned to leave, "but first, we need to get out of the open. My grandpa, one of the elders of my pack, has been badly injured and needs help. I don't want to stay away from him too long."

"We'll help any way we can," Kagome insured. She glanced over at Inunomaru who hadn't moved from his place at Inuyasha's side. She knew exactly what he was thinking when he glanced back at her, automatically making her regret her previous comment.

Ayame's eyes narrowed slightly at their quick communication but didn't seem to pay it much heed. "This way," she said as she took off up the hill.

* * *

They reached a small cave after a few minutes. Two wolf demons greeted them as they came into sight. Not surprisingly, they both exchanged shifty glances at Inunomaru, and keeping to the norm, he didn't react in the slightest.

Ayame led them inside the cave where a large grey wolf lay. The many wounds on his body were superficial, but injuries of this kind on a wolf of his age were quite dangerous.

Ayame walked over to him and knelt down, placing a soft hand on his thick fur. "Grandpa, this is Inuyasha and his friends. They have come to get information on this specter that is terrorizing our lands."

The old wolf opened his eyes slightly and looked over at the group, taking a longer time looking over Inuyasha and Inunomaru, "Mm, so this is the half demon Inuyasha Ayame has mentioned. Who is this other demon with him?"

Ayame was about to answer her grandfather when Kagome answered for her, "This is Inunomaru, Inuyasha's oldest brother…"

"…If you would allow, I will repair your injuries for you," he motioned.

Everyone was surprised at his statement, all aside from him and Kagome at least. She voiced her personal opinion with small glare. _So much for keeping _him_ in one piece_, she thought.

Ayame wasn't too happy with his offer either. Her body tensed, "Explain."

"I have the ability to heal," Inunomaru said calmly, "if the elder desires, I will mend his wounds. He will most likely not survive if I do not."

_Way to sugarcoat it there buddy,_ Kagome shouted at him in her mind. He didn't have to give _all_ the little details about the situation.

Inunomaru's explanation surprised Ayame rather than scared her. Apparently she hadn't expected something like this from someone like him and it had caught her completely off guard. She turned down to the old wolf at her feet. "Grandpa?" she pleaded.

The elder looked up at the girl and sighed in a small agreement. Kagome could tell what the old wolf was thinking: he had lived his life, but the way his granddaughter begged him was hard to say no to.

Inunomaru walked up without a word and knelt down beside the old wolf, raising one of his hands over his body. As he began his health transfer, Kagome felt it was the best time to try and keep attention away from them by returning to the demon eating monster Ayame had mentioned earlier. "Ayame, you said this thing was a specter, right?" she said, placing an assuring hand on her shoulder.

Her question pulled Ayame's awed attention from Inunomaru back to Kagome, "Y-yes, and it doesn't seem to be a demon or a human."

"It…came from the northeast," the elder said, pulling the others attentions back to him and Inunomaru.

"What…what's happening to them?" Ayame asked as small blood stains began to grow from underneath Inunomaru's kimono, each stain corresponding with a disappearing cut on the elder.

Inuyasha and the others noticed this as well. The group had known that Inunomaru had the ability to heal from the time he had mended Kagome's cheek, but they didn't know that he transferred these injuries onto himself.

As the blood stains grew through the cloth, Kagome became even more worried for Inunomaru than she already was. She had forgotten that he wasn't one to take his own health into account. If the wolf's injuries were as bad as he had claimed, then he was putting himself at risk. Everyone agreed silently in concern at the situation, especially Inuyasha who grumbled mutely.

Inunomaru, on the other hand, showed no visual sign that the injuries were hampering on his life. It was almost as if he didn't even feel the pain from the wounds that were slowly digging into his skin one by one. They all watched without a sound for a few minutes as he worked, looking at the soft glow from his hand that lit up the gloom of the cave. Before he could finish completely though, he stopped, and his hand dropped to his side. Kagome knelt down next to him, pulling out her first-aid kit.

"There is no need, Kagome," Inunomaru said as she grabbed one his arms.

She started wrapping one of deeper wounds on his arm, "Since you didn't let me use this earlier, I'm going to have insist, thank you."

He didn't respond.

"Why did you…?" Miroku started.

"The elder requested me to stop," he said, "and I will respect his wishes to do so."

Ayame began to protest, but her eyes fell to Kagome as she started to wrap another wound and she stopped without a word.

Inunomaru turned his gaze back to the elder, "You said that the specter came from the northeast, correct?"

The elder nodded, "Yes."

"What other information can you give us, Ayame?"

She stroked her hand through her grandfather's fur and sighed. "In no time at all, the specter devoured all the demons that lived in the mountains. Then it came down to the boarders of our own territory. So many…" she bit her lip hard, not able to continue.

"So many of us were devoured, we could not stay any longer," the elder finished. The fur on his back ruffled as he shared in his granddaughter's pain for their comrades.

"The wolf demon tribe isn't a weak tribe though," Sango said, "this specter must be quite powerful to drive them out so quickly."

"It easily towered over the trees. I've never seen anything like it before," Ayame exclaimed.

Shippo spoke worriedly from Miroku's shoulder. "It sounds like something out of a horror story."

"Humph, out of what we've run into lately, nothing surprises me anymore," Inuyasha growled.

"Still, something like this is strange," Sango said.

Miroku nodded. "Strange, but not unheard-of. It's been said since ancient times that men who died with unfinished business can turn into such creatures. They never let go of their hatred and end up feeding on that hatred after their death."

"There's not many who could resurrect a creature like this," Sango gripped tighter onto the strap of her hirakotsu.

Inuyasha sneered deep in his chest. "This has Naraku written _all_ over it."

"I'm sorry we couldn't give you more information, but I have to leave now. I need to get the elder and the rest of my pack to safety," Ayame turned to Inunomaru and bowed respectfully, "I can't thank you enough Inunomaru for saving my grandfather's life. I am forever in your debt."

Kagome saw a glint of concern go through Inunomaru's eyes as he bowed in response, and she couldn't help but get the feeling that Ayame's thanks were in vain. "I have done what can."

She gave him a small smile and turned back to Kagome. "If you see Kouga…"

"No worries, Ayame. If we run into Kouga, we'll make sure and tell him that you and the rest of your pack were able to escape." Kagome said with a reassuring smile.

Ayame grinned back at her. "Thank you."

* * *

Kagome waved farewell to Ayame and her comrades as they walked off. "Bye Ayame. Hope to see you soon! Be careful, okay?"

Ayame turned and waved back at them, "You too! Oh, one more thing: the specter smelled like corpses and graveyard soil. Hope that helps some!"

This little piece of information was something they had needed but were quite surprised to hear. Kagome and Inuyasha exchanged quick glances as Ayame finally disappeared over the hill.

Kagome returned back to the cave where Inunomaru still sat, moving only enough to lean next to a wall.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked him.

He didn't open his eyes. "I am well. The wounds were not dire and will heal quickly. Your medicinal equipment was not needed."

Kagome couldn't help but protest in her mind at this continuous illusion he had in his indestructibility. Apparently he hadn't seen himself lately. He looked like he had been in a paint fight, and…had a bit of a run-in with a mummy with all the bandages she wrapped him up in.

"Don't they hurt?" Shippo asked, hopping in behind Kagome.

His eyes fell on Shippo's worried face. "Pain goes away in time, little Shippo." He didn't notice Kagome roll her eyes.

The others followed Shippo inside, each sitting as best they could in the small floor space.

Miroku was the first to speak again. "Inunomaru, you said that the elder told you to stop healing him. Why?"

"I have promised him not to disclose that information," he answered curtly.

"Am I deaf or something, cuz I didn't hear anything," Inuyasha said.

Inunomaru looked at him stoically, "Some words do not need to be said to be understood."

"Keh, whatever."

"When do you think you'll be ready to travel again?" Kagome asked, hoping that he would wait for awhile.

And, again keeping to his immortality clause, he replied quickly in the contrast, "I am able now; the earlier we continue, the earlier we will get to our destination."

"I'm hungry, can we eat first?" Shippo asked.

_THANK YOU SHIPPO!_ Kagome cheered in her head. She could have hugged the little kit for saving her the trouble of keeping Inunomaru from moving around. There was no way he would argue with Shippo's grumbling stomach.

Instead, she kindly agreed with Shippo, "I agree, let's have a quick bite to eat, then we can keep going. There's still quite a bit of sunlight left so we have plenty of time to travel later."

The others agreed and Inunomaru nodded. Score for Kagome.

* * *

After their small meal of granola bars and chips, Inuyasha and the others began their travels once again to the northeast. Before running into Ayame, he had picked up Kouga's scent coming out from ahead of them. The wolf was clearly heading in the same direction they were, and Inuyasha had a feeling that this specter Ayame and the elder had been talking about would be in that direction as well.

Now that Inunomaru had recovered from healing the elder, they would hopefully not have any more interference in their travels. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was quite glad that Shippo had been hungry earlier. He had seen Inunomaru put out of action before, maybe not in this way exactly, but he knew how much lack of concern he had in his own well being. Keeping him in one place long enough to recuperate sure helped with Inuyasha's attitude on his little health "_transfer_" as Inunomaru and Kagome had called it. He would make sure and bring up _that_ little piece of info later.

Just as he was finishing up plotting on how best to burst their secret bubble, a blast of bright violet light shot into the air.

Shippo pointed over to where the beams lit up the hillside "Kagome, what's that light from?"

"That's from the sacred jewel," she said, all the while widening her eyes.

"But why is it so bright?" Miroku asked.

"Could Kouga and Naraku be fighting?" Sango asked, pulling her hirakotsu from her shoulder.

Inuyasha sniffed the air, "No, I'm not picking up Naraku's scent. Inunomaru?"

"I cannot pick up any trace of Naraku either, but Kouga's scent is easy to recognize," he said, "I am also picking up a second scent with him."

Inuyasha nodded, "It's just like what Ayame said, corpses and graveyard soil."

Kagome looked back at Inuyasha. "Naraku or this giant specter, it doesn't matter; we have to go and see if Kouga is okay. I promised Ayame I'd tell him that she was safe and I can't do that if he's dead."

Inuyasha nodded, "Yeah, and I don't want him to have all the fun anyways."

Kagome rolled her eyes, jumped up onto his back, and they took off.

* * *

By the time they had reached the area where the lights had come from, all that remained was a pile of massive bones. Kouga, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found. Inuyasha, though slightly depressed that he had missed a fight, ran up to the bones and sniffed around.

"Yup, this pile of bones was definitely it. It smells just like corpses and graveyard soil. Kouga must've finished him off then ran off somewhere," he said with a disappointed grumble.

"His scent fades in the direction we were heading," Inunomaru said as he looked off to the northeast.

"Well, then at least we know he's alive," Kagome said with relief, "but how did he manage to kill it?"

Inuyasha stood up and crossed his arms. "Keh, probably got lucky."

"You do not give Kouga very much credit, Inuyasha," Inunomaru replied, the corner of his mouth tilting up slightly.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "Ha _ha_."

Sango put her hirakotsu over her shoulder, the need for the weapon clearly gone. Miroku walked up beside her and leaned up against his staff. "I guess we can call it a night then," he said, "we burned up what light we had left running over here."

"Yeah, but can we at least find somewhere a little _less_ gruesome to sleep at?" Kagome motioned, "I'd rather not sleep next to a pile of giant bones if you know what I mean."

END

* * *

Note from the author:

The story is on a roll now. On to the next...

Cheers and happy reading


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